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Western Michigan receives historic donation from group of alumni donors

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Western Michigan recently announced a historic donation from an anonymous group of donors.

On Tuesday, WMU announced that a group of anonymous alumni have donated $550 million to the university. The donation has been labeled the Empowering Futures Gift:

“We call it the Empowering Futures Gift because at its core is our donors’ belief that inclusive education empowers people and communities to create a bright future for all,” says WMU President Edward Montgomery.

According to WMU, the donation is the largest gift ever for a public institution of higher education:

The donors have earmarked $300 million for the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine and $50 million for Bronco athletics.

WMU President Montgomery also praised the generous gift as having the ability to impact generations to come:

“Not only is the $550 million in aggregate a staggering sum, it’s the biggest sum ever given for a public institution in U.S. history,” says Montgomery. “But for WMU, each of the component gifts is the largest on record ever received by probably a factor of three. The size and impact of this gift will generate opportunities not just for this year, not just for next year but will catalyze opportunities that will change the condition and transform lives for generations to come.”

On the gridiron, WMU football went 4-2 during the shortened MAC season in 2020. The Broncos recently announced they would be operating at full capacity for the 2021 season.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.