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The Moody Foundation is giving Huston-Tillotson University $150 million to upgrade campus buildings and provide more student scholarships. It’s the largest financial gift the Moody Foundation has ever given and the most money ever donated to a single historically Black college or university in the country.

The donation coincides with the university’s 150-year anniversary.

“Because we are celebrating our sesquicentennial, 150 years, it is high time that we recalibrate and improve our campus,” Huston-Tillotson University President and CEO Melva K. Wallace said.

The Moody Foundation has donated to Huston-Tillotson in the past. Last year, it gave the university just under $1 million to install air conditioning in the gym and some classrooms.

But Wallace said this large of a donation will transform the campus.

A large chunk of money will go toward building new student housing. Huston-Tillotson has more than 1,000 students but only two residence halls, Wallace said, forcing many students to reside at Saint Edward’s instead of their home campus.

“We lose students because they don’t have a place to live,” Wallace said. “And you know Austin affordability for finding apartments and places to stay is just often out of the reach for a college student and their family.”

The early plans include building new residence halls that will house up to 800 undergraduate and graduate students. Some outdated campus buildings will get upgrades, too.

Another large chunk of funding will go toward creating new student scholarships. The average cost of tuition at Huston-Tillotson is $25,000 per year — which Wallace said is a barrier for many students to get an education. Wallace said she hopes making more scholarships available will mean more students can graduate debt-free.

“No one has said college has gotten cheaper. Or less expensive,” Wallace said. “It has constantly been a struggle for students who are oftentimes seen as underestimated to afford their dreams.”

The Moody Foundation has committed to donating $1 billion to improve education in Texas over the next 20 years. Trustee Ross Moody said supporting Huston-Tillotson as part of that initiative was a no-brainer. Huston-Tillotson is the oldest educational institution in Austin and is ranked number one amongst HBCUs in the nation for providing the best long-term return on investment for its graduates.

“We hope this puts Huston-Tillotson on the map,” Elle Moody, senior vice president of grants and chief communications officer of the Moody Foundation said. “We’re really hoping this gift will kind of be a first domino or a catalyst for other donors and other foundations … because this school deserves all the funding they can get.”

Disclosure: Huston-Tillotson University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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