An anonymous donor has pledged to give LSU athletics and academics $40 million upon his or her death, which would mark the largest such gift in the university’s history, officials announced today.
“This is a significant gift to LSU in so many ways,” LSU President F. King Alexander says in a news release. “When realized, it will ensure that our future engineering students and student athletes will have the resources they need for even greater educational success. Planned giving is essential for the future of LSU, providing a solid foundation of future support for growth and innovation.”
LSU only describes the donor as “an alumnus and lifelong supporter of LSU athletics.” Of the total $40 million donation, $20 million is to go to the Tiger Athletic Foundation to support student-athlete scholarships and $20 million will go to the LSU College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering.
“The tremendous generosity of this donor will affect the lives of LSU student-athletes and mechanical and industrial engineering students for generations to come,” Richard Perry, president and CEO of TAF, says in the release. “The donor expressed the motivation behind this record-setting planned gift, [which] included the donor’s profound appreciation for the educational experience in the College of Engineering and the role that experience played in the donor’s success in life, along with a love of Tiger athletics, through which the donor remained connected to LSU and was a source of many of the donor’s favorite memories of time spent with family and friends.”
G. Lee Griffin, president and CEO of the LSU Foundation, adds: “This hallmark gift exemplifies the generous spirit that characterizes our Tiger community. We are humbled by this donor’s desire to impact the lives of our students in a way that will extend far beyond the donor’s own life. A gift of such magnitude establishes a lasting legacy that celebrates the LSU experience and demonstrates the immense positive impact of philanthropic support of our university.”
