Washington & Jefferson College (W&J) in Washington, Pennsylvania, has announced a $50 million gift from the estate of Anica Donnan Rawnsley.

The largest gift in the college’s history will support a scholarship endowment in Rawnsley’s name and provide need-based support to students from the Washington County region of Pennsylvania. The scholarship fund will enable the college to invest millions of dollars annually in the people of its community and region; criteria for scholarship eligibility and the timing of the first awards will be announced at a later date.

Rawnsley, who passed away in August, had become W&J’s first female trustee in 1975. Although she grew up in Washington, she did not attend W&J, which was an all-male institution until 1970. But her affinity for the institution was instilled by the many members of her family who were alumni, including her father, her stepfather, two grandfathers, and two uncles.

“Anica Rawnsley was a schoolteacher in her younger years and believed passionately in the life-changing power of education,” said W&J president John C. Knapp. “She had a bold vision to make it possible for future generations to afford and benefit from a W&J education....It was a privilege to know Anica and her passion for providing students in this area with an education of exceptional quality at a cost within their families’ reach.”

(Photo credit: Flickr/Richard Melton)