W&J receives record $50 million gift for scholarship fund
Washington & Jefferson College will receive a $50 million gift from the estate of the school’s first female trustee to support student scholarships.
The gift is the largest philanthropic donation in the 242-year history of the college and one of the largest given to a liberal arts college in the country.
The gift was provided by the estate of Anica Donnan Rawnsley, who served 12 years on the board of trustees starting in 1975. She died Aug. 9 at the age of 94.
The scholarship endowment bearing her name will provide need-based support to students from Washington County who enroll at W&J.
“Anica Rawnsley was a schoolteacher in her younger years and believed passionately in the life-changing power of education,” said John C. Knapp, W&J president. “She had a bold vision to make it possible for future generations to afford and benefit from a W&J education.”
Knapp said the new scholarship will allow the college to invest millions of dollars annually in people from the community.
“It was a privilege to know Anica and her passion for providing students in this area with an education of exceptional quality at a cost within their families’ reach,” he said.
Rawnsley was born in 1929 in Washington. She did not attend W&J, an all-male institution until 1970.
She graduated from Goucher College in Towson, Md., and later earned a master’s degree in education from Bank Street College of Education in New York City.
Her affinity for W&J was instilled at an early age, as many of her family members were W&J graduates, including her father, John H. Donnan (1900); stepfather, H. Gilmore Schmidt (1930); grandfathers, John White Donnan (1866) and H.P. Chambers (1881); and two uncles, Alvan E. Donnan (1909) and Smith N. Whitworth (1911).
In 2003, W&J awarded Rawnsley an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree, recognizing her community leadership and service.
In addition to her 12 years on the board of trustees, she carried on her family’s tradition of civic involvement by serving as president of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Easter Seal Society and as a director of the American Cancer Society and Friends of Citizens Library, among other organizations.
Criteria for scholarship eligibility and the timing of the first awards will be announced at a later date.