Cornell University has announced a $15 million gift from Robert Frederick Smith (’85) that will provide financial aid to engineering students from historically underrepresented communities.

The gift to the university’s College of Engineering will support an undergraduate scholarship fund to provide at least seven students from urban high schools with up to $45,000 a year in grants and a graduate fellowship fund to support approximately 12 master’s students and five doctoral students who attended historically Black colleges and universities. In addition, the gift will help fund student participation in national conferences, professional development training, connections with employers, mentoring programs, and immersive learning opportunities.

Smith, the founder of the private equity firm Vista Equity Partners and the Fund II Foundation, made a $50 million gift to the university in 2016 that, in part, provided similar funding for underrepresented students to Cornell’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. According to the university, in recent years it has invested in financial aid at a rate exceeding the annual increase in tuition, more than tripling its total annual institutional grant aid in the last 20 years.

“My goal has always been to lift up and provide opportunity for those who have historically faced barriers to success,” said Smith. “My hope is that these funds will elevate more students and afford them the opportunity to attend my alma mater and pursue careers in STEM, as well as continue to support the diverse pipeline of extraordinary talent that Cornell produces.”

“This gift will create critical pathways for talented students to become the innovative, future-ready leaders that industry and academia desperately need,” said College of Engineering dean Lynden Archer. “We are deeply grateful to Robert for expanding opportunities for our students, who…are prepared to excel and make meaningful impacts in essentially any field.”

(Photo credit: Cornell University)