Duke University has announced a $100 million gift from the Duke Endowment in support of the university’s next 100 years of education.

In celebration of each organization’s centennial, the largest single award in the university’s history will support Duke’s financial aid initiative, announced in June, which will provide full tuition grants for undergraduate students from North and South Carolina with qualifying family incomes. Specifically, it will expand access to a Duke education; boost support for Duke students, especially those from the Carolinas and Duke graduate students from historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions; deepen the university’s community partnerships; and honor Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke’s legacy by making the building that bears her name a model for 21st-century teaching and learning.

“Our two institutions have a shared origin story, and I am absolutely delighted that the Duke Endowment has chosen to launch our centennial with this historic award that will shape the Duke student experience in our second century,” said Duke University president Vincent E. Price. “This award underscores the value of transformative teaching and learning experiences that prepare students to successfully engage with the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Daxus)