Netflix founder gives $3 million to Robert Morris University for minority scholarships

Netflix founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings is donating $3 million to underwrite 20 full scholarships at Robert Morris University, adding the Allegheny County school to a growing list of colleges and universities profiting from philanthropy aimed at boosting the future of minorities.

The four-year scholarships —including money for room, board and textbooks — will be earmarked for underrepresented groups and others who “demonstrate a commitment to empowering members of underrepresented groups, combating stereotypes, and enabling others to better understand persons of different races, ethnicities, or other traits,” a spokesman for the Moon university said Tuesday.

“It is critical that universities create pathways and pipelines of talent, especially for Black students and other underrepresented minorities for our knowledge-based economy,” Hastings said. “I have known (Robert Morris University President) Chris Howard for more than 20 years and know he and his colleagues at Robert Morris University share this commitment.”

The scholarship fund marks a continuation of a philanthropic effort aimed at boosting minority opportunities in higher education that Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin launched last summer. Following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, The New York Times reported that the pair donated $120 million to the United Negro College Fund, and Morehouse and Spelman, a pair of historically black colleges in Atlanta.

They weren’t alone in their concerns.

MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeffrey Bezos, gave away $5.9 billion last year, including $109 million to three historically black universities — Howard in Washington, D.C., Tuskegee in Alabama and Morgan State in Baltimore.

The new Robert Morris Next Century Scholarships will be open to students enrolling this fall. RMU spokesman Jonathan Potts said the university anticipates awarding five full Next Century Scholarships each year for the next four years.

Robert Morris enrolled 4,150 students last fall. Minority enrollment, which included 6% Blacks, comprised 16.3% to total enrollment this year.

Potts said the new scholarships are aimed at students who wish to pursue careers in technology or mathematics-related fields. Recipients will be able to choose from several degree programs at RMU, including: Computer and Information Systems, Cyber security, Data Analytics, Actuarial Science, Mathematics, Statistics and Predictive Analytics, Computer Science and User Experience User Interface Design (UX-UI).

Howard, the only Black president of a university in the region, said he’s optimistic that the new scholarship program will bode well for the future. He joined Robert Morris in 2016.

“I wish to thank Reed for his generous gift to support students not only committed to pursuing dynamic careers in the information sector, but also to ending social injustice and racial inequality in the most vibrant parts of the world’s economy. As usual, he is making a difference in the lives of others in a meaningful way,” said Howard.

A former Air Force intelligence officer and Rhodes Scholar who earned an MBA from Harvard, Howard worked in the corporate world before taking leadership positions in academia. He and Hastings met in the late 1990s at a fellowship program for young leaders run by the Aspen Institute, a think tank.

More information about the scholarships is available at at rmu.edu/nextcentury