Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation Expands Scholarship Program at Spelman College with $104,000 Gift
By: Spelman College
ATLANTA (August 17, 2023) — Spelman College announced today a generous gift of $104,000 from the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation, Inc., to expand the Foundation’s endowed scholarship fund at Spelman.
“We are thrilled to enhance our partnership with Spelman College through this additional grant,” said Linda Gulley, managing consultant of the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation. “Spelman has a long-standing commitment to academic excellence, and we believe in investing in the education and development of talented students who embody the legacy of Hank Aaron.”
Previously, the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation supported five student scholarships through the endowment at Spelman. With the addition of this recent gift, six students will now receive greater access to quality education, and the Foundation will continue fostering the next generation of leaders.
“Thank you to the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation for your continuous support of Spelman College and the students who have and will in the future benefit from this endowed scholarship fund,” said Helene Gayle, president of Spelman College. “We applaud your commitment to ensuring that the women of African descent are able to pursue an academic degree at Spelman, and we deeply appreciate the Foundation for helping to make their dreams of a high quality, debt-free education a reality.”
The new scholarship will be available in the 2023-2024 academic year and will benefit students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievements, leadership potential and a commitment to community service. By alleviating financial barriers, the scholarship program aims to empower deserving students to pursue their dreams and make a meaningful impact in their fields.
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About the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation
The Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation, Inc. was established to honor the legacy of baseball legend Hank Aaron. The foundation aims to empower young individuals, particularly those from underserved communities, to achieve their dreams through education and community engagement. By providing scholarships, mentorship programs and community initiatives, the foundation strives to build a more inclusive and equitable society.
About Spelman College
Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a leading liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. Located in Atlanta, the College’s picturesque campus is home to 2,100 students. Spelman is the country’s leading producer of Black women who complete Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The College’s status is confirmed by the U.S. News & World Report, which ranked Spelman No. 51 among all liberal arts colleges, No. 19 for undergraduate teaching, No. 5 for social mobility among liberal arts colleges, and No. 1 for the 16th year among historically Black colleges and universities. The Wall Street Journal has ranked the College No. 3, nationally, in terms of student satisfaction. Recent initiatives include a designation by the Department of Defense as a Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, a Gender and Sexuality Studies Institute, the first endowed queer studies chair at an HBCU and a program to increase the number of Black women Ph.D.s in economics. New majors have been added, including documentary filmmaking and photography, and collaborations have been established with MIT’s Media Lab, the Broad Institute and the Army Research Lab for artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Outstanding alumnae include Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Rosalind Brewer, political leader Stacey Abrams, former Acting Surgeon General and Spelman’s first alumna president Audrey Forbes Manley, actress and producer Latanya Richardson Jackson, global bioinformatics geneticist Janina Jeff and authors Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones.
To learn more, please visit spelman.edu and @spelmancollege on social media.
