Fordham University in New York City has announced a $2 million gift from alumnus ('77) and Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington in support of the university's theater program.

The gift, Washington's first to his alma mater, will be used to establish the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre and to create an endowed scholarship for a minority undergraduate student studying theater at the university. Tony Award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad, who is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the television sitcom The Cosby Show, will serve as the first Denzel Washington Chair, while the first scholarship recipient is expected to be announced next fall.

Fordham theater program director Matthew Maguire told the New York Daily News that Washington's "idea for this endowed chair was that this person become a fully integrated member of the faculty for the semester." To that end, Rashad, who already has begun teaching a character class at the university, is attending faculty meetings and chatting one-on-one with her students on a regular basis.

"Fordham is deeply in Denzel Washington's debt, not only for his generous gifts to the theater program, but also for his longstanding commitment and public support for the university," said Roger A. Milici, Jr., vice president for development and university relations. "His international reputation and star power will certainly bring greater interest to Fordham programs and greater support for our mission. We are especially grateful and honored to count Denzel Washington as an alumnus and generous benefactor."