Billionaire George Soros pledged $500 million to a private liberal arts college in New York, one of the largest single donations given to a university in higher education history, the school said.
Leon Botstein, president of Bard College, said the money will help establish a $1 billion endowment, calling Soros’s gift the “most historic moment” since the school was founded in 1860.
Soros previously pledged $1 billion to help establish the Open Society University Network, which globally connects educational institutions to integrate curricula and encourage civic engagement among students. Bard College is one of the founding partners of the network.
“Bard has had an outsize impact, setting the standard in liberal arts education in prisons, in high school-age students, and in the arts and in its international work,” Soros said.
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Bard College raised $250 million on its own for its endowment and aims to raise another $250 million over the next five years, it said.
Bard College seeks to extend liberal arts and sciences education into communities of which it has been underdeveloped or absent, according to its website. The college, which has less than 2,500 students, focuses on small seminars to give students a full learning experience.
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“Bard College seeks to inspire curiosity, a love of learning, idealism, and a commitment to the link between higher education and civic participation,” its website states.
Tuition costs for the college are roughly $55,000 for a first-year student without room and board.
Correction: Soros’s donation is one of the largest single donations given to a university in higher education history, not the largest in history.
