Photo Courtesy of Howard University
On October 12, Howard University announced its largest alumni donation in history after sweethearts Eddie C. Brown and C. Sylvia Brown donated $5 million to the HBCU.
According to the school, the long-time couple pledged $5 million, which will be distributed toward Graduation Retention Access to Continued Excellence (GRACE), which is a need-based fund created by Howard University President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick in 2014.
“We are extremely grateful to Eddie and Sylvia for making this historic gift to Howard University,” Frederick shared in a press release. “The GRACE Grant has helped to eliminate financial barriers to education for Howard students, and I am thrilled that the Browns were inspired to commit such a generous gift to this important fund. My hope is that students will be inspired by their story and generosity and that others in our alumni community will consider the many ways they, too, can impact current and future generations of Howard students.”
Eddie and Sylvia were always committed to their education and recalled how they could attend the university. Sylvia was brought up around a family of educators and relied on their support to pursue higher education. Eddie’s ability to go to Howard was facilitated by a caring professor and anonymous “angel” donor.
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“I moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, when I was 15,” said Eddie. “We had a community organizer that would look out for the young Black children in the community. He came to me and my mother one day and said, ‘I was contacted by a woman who wants to help a young African-American student go to college.’ And it was my 10th grade English teacher who was actually a graduate of Howard [who] said, ‘You should go to Howard University.’”
“We were very fortunate to be able to go to Howard,” Slyvia said. “I had student loans, and I know how hard that is. Being from a family of four, my parents did the best they could, but that was never enough to pay for all the fees. And that’s been our mantra, to give to others and help them at least be able to get an undergraduate degree, so they have a good foundation.”
After having successful careers paved by their time at the university, the couple decided to make the historic donation and advocate for their love of Howard’s continued efforts to its student body.