By SÍLE MOLONEY
LEHMAN COLLEGE, BEDFORD Park
Photo courtesy of Lehman College
Lehman College received a $50 million gift from the MacKenzie Scott Foundation on Friday, Dec. 5, amplifying what the college said was a new era of opportunity and ensuring a legacy of success for years to come. As reported, the Bedford Park-based college announced in October that it also recently raised $30 million as part of its “Forever Forward” fundraising campaign.
“This is a tremendous investment in our students by MacKenzie Scott,” said Lehman College President Fernando Delgado. “It recognizes how hard our students work to build a better life for themselves, their families, and their entire community. We are enormously grateful to be trusted to steward this gift and help the people of The Bronx and beyond. This gift will enable us to secure our mission long into the future and give us the flexibility and foundation to deliver on our promise to our students.”
For his part, CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez thanked Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, for what the chancellor said was her generous support to the City University of New York as a whole, which he said totaled more than $125 million over the last five years across five campuses, including Lehman College.
As reported, Lehman College was gifted $30 million by the MacKenzie Scott Foundation in 2020, bring the foundation’s total investment in Lehman students to $80 million.
Scott is reportedly currently America’s third wealthiest woman after Alice Walton, heiress of Walmart and who was the wealthiest woman as of September 2025, and Julia Koch, who is the second wealthiest. Koch inherited her fortune through her husband, David Koch, who died in 2019.
“These record-setting gifts are an investment in CUNY’s work to propel our students into successful careers and accomplishment long after they’ve graduated,” Matos Rodriguez said. “As we look forward to a new year, we are excited to put this support to good use, deepening the impact on our students and meeting their needs in and out of the classroom.”
Delgado said the latest gift from the MacKenzie Scott Foundation was an “extraordinary” affirmation that he said doubled down on the decision the Foundation made five years ago. “As higher education, in general, works to find its way in an uncertain environment, this gift is a major source of encouragement that we are on the right path,” he said.
Lehman College officials said specific details of how the money will be spent will be worked out over time but it will be directed to areas like scholarships, supporting career pathways under CUNY Beyond, and other areas that provide direct support to students.
Officials went on to say that the success of Lehman graduates is recognized every year across a number of media and educational platforms, “naming the college a perennial national leader in various categories, including social mobility (Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report), best value (Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Washington Monthly, Niche), and best outcomes (Money, Forbes).
They said the accolades come despite Lehman educating a population that they said is often overlooked, with more than half the families of Lehman students earning less than $30,000 a year. They said many are also the first in their families to attend college, and two-thirds come from The Bronx, the county with the lowest per capita income in New York.
Officials went on to say that the latest MacKenzie Scott gift adds to the momentum Lehman College has built over the last several years. They said the School of Business, launched in 2022, brings Fortune 500 leaders to campus each semester to meet with students and has already built a reputation placing students at Big Four accounting firms, private corporations, and public institutions.
Meanwhile, they said the School of Health Science, Human Services, and Nursing opened a $95 million Nursing building in 2024, giving hundreds of students the opportunity to learn and train in an environment that mimics a real hospital with an ICU, maternity suite, surgical and exam rooms, and more than 20 programmable patient simulators.
The Bronx is home to several hospitals, including several within the Montefiore-Einstein network, the largest employer in the borough, St. Barnabas Hospital, NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi and North Central Bronx, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, and BronxCare Health System to name a few.
Lehman College officials added that in the fall, Lehman plans to open its first dormitory, just a few minutes from campus on the Grand Concourse, which will house more than 180 students.
They went on to say that Lehman College serves as an intellectual, economic, and cultural center for The Bronx, New York City, and beyond, with the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts also located on its campus. They said the college, which sits on a tree-lined 37-acre campus located at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West and Goulden Avenue, supports more than 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students, another 14,000 students in continuing and professional programs, and over 90,000 alumni.
Lehman officials added that as a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution in The Bronx, the College educates a diverse population of students, offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees as well as certificate programs in the liberal arts, sciences, and professions.
Read some of our past coverage of Lehman College here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Lehman College Small Business Development Center is offering small business training throughout Dec. Click here for more information.