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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has received a $140 million donation for a former student.
Officials at the prestigious university said Wednesday that the donation came from an alumnus that prefers to remain anonymous.
The gift is an unrestricted donation, meaning that MIT can use it in any way to supports its research and education mission.
MIT President L. Rafael Reif said donation of this type are “the vital fuel that helps big ideas take off.
“This remarkable gift will magnify our strength in education, research, and innovation and help foster transformative discoveries, inventions, and solutions to conquer new frontiers and build a better world. We are honored by the expression of confidence this donor has shown in MIT’s capacity for impact, and we are grateful for this visionary support.”
A donor statement said that he feels “blessed to be able to give back to the institute so other students can experience what I did.
“No one has ever made it through life without someone else’s help. As a past recipient of MIT’s generous financial aid, I benefited tremendously from the opportunity to pursue my MIT education and am extremely appreciative of all the ways that MIT has shaped me,” the donor said.
“I am also inspired by MIT’s vision in tackling global challenges, and I trust its leadership to take bold steps to make the world a better place. I hope this gift inspires others to give back to MIT and to pay it forward to the society that we all share.”
The $140 million donation will help MIT ensure that every admitted undergraduate student will be able to enroll regardless of family financial circumstances.
This donation is the largest given to MIT since alumnus and billionaire real estate mogul Samuel Tak gave $118 million in 2015.
Previously, benefactors have included tech entrepreneur Kenan Sahin, who donated $100 million in 1999, and David Koch, who donated $100 million in 2007.
