Spelman College in Atlanta has announced a $7.5 million gift from the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation to endow professorships and a scholarship program.

The gift will establish the Diana King Endowed Professors in Film and Filmmaking, Television and Related Media, which will be held by Ayoka Chenzira, professor and division chair for the arts, and Julie Dash, distinguished professor of documentary filmmaking in the Department of Art and Visual Culture. Under Chenzira's direction, Spelman became the first HBCU to offer undergraduate degrees in documentary filmmaking and photography in 2017.

The gift will also underwrite the Diana King Endowed Scholarship Fund in the Arts, which will be open to junior applicants and rising seniors enrolled in the college's documentary film program. The programs are named after the foundation's founder and original president and chair.

"Ayoka Chenzira and Julie Dash are pioneers in the arts and beyond," said Spelman College president Mary Schmidt Campbell. "Their scholarship and leadership at Spelman and continued excellence through their current contributions to the film industry provide students with real-world examples of how they can succeed as creative storytellers and change agents. We are grateful for this generous gift from the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation that honors these luminaries and supports the arts at Spelman. This gift comes to the college as we celebrate the success of new art programs in documentary filmmaking and photography, as well as the forthcoming development of the new Center for Innovation & the Arts. Through this gift, Spelman will continue to encourage students to be innovative risk-takers, inventive creators and artistic collaborators."