CSUN Receives $40 Million Gift, Largest in School History

California State University – Northridge announced Tuesday that it received a $40 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and her husband Dan Jewett.Scott, who is the former wife of Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, made history with the gift, which is the most money the university has ever received from a single donor. Forbes estimates Scott’s net worth at $60 billion.The gift to CSUN is just one of 286 announced by Scott that details $2.74 billion in gifts to various universities, art organizations and nonprofits. The list of recipients also included California State University – Channel Islands in Camarillo for $15 million.“Because we believe that teams with experience on the front lines of challenges will know best how to put the money to good use, we encouraged them to spend it however they choose,” wrote Scott.CSUN said in a statement that the gift is designated to support presidential priorities and that it comes not long after the release of CSUN President Erika Beck’s Listening Tour report. The report identifies Beck’s priorities as president such as elimination of equity gaps, diversifying faculty and holistic student support.“While one-time dollars cannot be used to support long-term expenses in perpetuity, with a mix of focused spending and investment, we can, and will, use these dollars to transform our campus for generations to come,” Beck said in the statement.