LEXINGTON, Ky.—President R. Owen Williams announced today that Transylvania University has received a $5 million restricted endowment matching grant from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust to establish the William R. Kenan, Jr. Endowment Fund for Student Scholarships. It is one of the largest single gifts the university has ever received.
The endowment supports the awarding of Kenan Scholarships to incoming Transylvania students based on merit. The awards will provide substantial scholarships to highly academically talented students. Members of the fall 2013 entering class will be the first to receive the scholarships.
“This new scholarship program is a significant addition to the group of merit scholarships that we are able to offer outstanding students from across the country,” said Williams. “We appreciate very much the generosity of the trustees of the Kenan Charitable Trust in making this award and for their belief in the value of a Transylvania liberal arts education.”
The conditions of the grant require that Transylvania raise an additional $5 million over the next three years to fully establish the endowment.
Transylvania, founded in 1780, is the nation’s 16th oldest institution of higher learning and is consistently ranked in national publications as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country.
Read the Lexington Herald-Leader story about the grant.