CSUN Receives $40 Million From Bezos Ex-Wife

NORTHRIDGE, CA — Cal State Northridge announced Tuesday that it received a $40 million from philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott and her husband, Dan Jewett. Scott, who was once married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and is worth around $59 billion, gave the university the largest individual donation in its 63-year-history.

The gift is designed to address educational equity gaps at the university, and is part of $2.7 billion that Scott is donating to 286 “high-impact organizations in categories and communities that have been historically underfunded and overlooked.”

Scott will also be donating $40 million to Cal State Fullerton, $30 million to Long Beach City College, and an unknown amount to Pasadena City College, according to an online post she made Tuesday morning.

“This transformative gift provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to advance our future as leaders in equity-centered student success to provide a brighter and more equitable future for our students, their families, and the communities we are so proud to serve,” CSUN President Erika D. Beck said.

Beck will use the money to address issues she heard about during the 100-day listening tour she took after taking office in January. After her tour, Beck issues a report arguing that the university’s top priorities should include eliminating equity gaps, diversifying the faculty, improving academic standards, and supporting the “education goals and intellectual promise” of CSUN students.

“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.

CSUN is already on the way, according to a U.S. News & World Report survey that ranked CSUN the 21st best university in the West regarding social mobility. It was also ranked 4th in the nation on CollegeNet's Social Mobility Index, which measure a college's success improving its students' socioeconomic status. It is one of the more diverse universities, with 71% of students first-generation college students and more than half of students identifying as Latino, according to university data.

“This transformative gift provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to advance our future as leaders in equity-centered student success,” Beck said.