An anonymous $10 million donation was gifted to St. Thomas’ Dougherty Family College on Sept. 22 to help students obtain their associate degree, according to an article published by the St. Thomas Newsroom.
The two-year college within St. Thomas opened in the fall of 2017. DFC offers an associate degree with a curriculum designed for students who aspire to a four-year degree. The college is an integral part of the St. Thomas community and a step toward closing the education gap.
The anonymous donor challenged other donors to match the donation for a total of $20 million by the end of the academic year.
Because the donation was anonymous, there is no clear statement on what the intent of the donation was, beyond the donation match challenge.
“I would assume this person(s) is committed to eliminating the long-standing gaps in our community regarding who college is for and who is successful in college,” Emily Wingfield, development director of DFC, said.
Tuition costs about $15,000 a year per student, according to Wingfield. Most of the DFC students qualify for state grants, which helps reduce tuition to around $7,500.
With the donation, each student will have a base tuition fee of just $500 per semester. The difference is fundraised for the students each year. This allows students of DFC to graduate debt-free.
DFC students are also provided support from the program, receiving two meals per day, a free Metro pass, a laptop and textbooks. This brings tuition costs down to around $5,000 a year per student.
Second-year DFC student Koko Agbobly was able to get an internship opportunity at Mayo Sports Clinic through the resources DFC provided her. She is using this internship as a way to determine which medical path she wants to venture down.
“I came to DFC because it was just so affordable for me and my family,” Agbobly said.
DFC’s goal is to raise a $50 million endowment. With this endowment, DFC will be able to provide scholarship support for 300 students each year. This donation, along with the accompanying $10 million in matching funds from the challenge, will get DFC to its $50 million goal.
“Hopefully this brings more attention to DFC as a whole and more attention from other donors who would want to invest in our scholars at DFC,” Agbobly said.
“DFC benefits the whole community, so the hope is that we will secure broad support from across the community to ensure our community’s students have a pathway to obtain a college degree and to close the long-standing prosperity and education gaps in our community,” Wingfield said.
The mission of DFC is to “set the standard for preparing historically underrepresented scholars to earn a future four-year degree, get on the path to a meaningful professional career and step into their role as transformative community leaders.”
According to the DFC website, 95% of students are students of color and 75% are first-generation college students.
In a recent study by WalletHub, Minnesota was named the third worst in the nation for the racial-wealth gap, with the Black community being named the most disadvantaged. The District of Columbia and Wisconsin took the first two spots.
Key factors driving the current racial gap are unequal access to higher education and employment for minorities, as well as residential segregation.
When asked what DFC means to her, Agboby said “It just makes my future possible.”
“All students, no matter their race, family income level or zip code, should have access to an affordable, culturally sustaining, rigorous education, and that is what DFC provides,” Wingfield said.
Macy Berendsen can be reached at macy.berendsen@stthomas.edu.