Johns Hopkins confirmed the donation Nov. 18. The $1.8 billion represents the largest donation to any academic institution in U.S. history, Bloomberg reports.
Mr. Bloomberg, who graduated from the institution in 1964, announced the donation in a Nov. 18 op-ed for The New York Times, in which he identified college affordability as a national issue.
“America is at its best when we reward people based on the quality of their work, not the size of their pocketbook,” Mr. Bloomberg wrote. “Denying students entry to a college based on their ability to pay undermines equal opportunity. It perpetuates intergenerational poverty. And it strikes at the heart of the American dream: The idea that every person, from every community, has the chance to rise based on merit.”
Johns Hopkins University President Ronald Daniels said in a letter to the Johns Hopkins community that the donation is “transformative,” and said gift will be used toward eliminating student loans in the university’s financial aid packages beginning next fall.
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