University receives $1 million gift for financial aid

Henry Kravis, parent of a former University student and a general partner of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Company, recently announced that he will donate $1 million to the University's financial aid program to assist disadvantaged students enrolled in Trinity College.

Kravis said he was pleased to make the University more accessible to talented students. "Giving outstanding students access to the nation's leading private institutions such as Duke is important to the students and to the institutions, of course, but it also is essential if we are to aspire to a just and diverse society," Kravis said. "I admire Duke's commitment and am pleased to be able to help the University reach out to students from poor rural areas as well as the inner cities of this country."

President Nan Keohane said she applauded Kravis' generosity and affirmation of the University's ideals. "Henry Kravis is helping to make it possible for Duke to remain truly accessible to highly promising students, whatever their backgrounds or financial means," she said. "We are deeply grateful both for his generosity and for his understanding of our commitment, which is so central to Duke's educational philosophy."

Although the specific criteria for receiving the award has not been decided, it will be based solely on financial need. More generally, the award will be given to students with very difficult economic backgrounds, said James Belvin, director of the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid. "[The award] is focused on disadvantaged students, with an interest in African Americans," he said.

Because the University will not receive the complete $1 million up front, Belvin said, the number of students who will be assisted in the first year will depend on the amount initially donated-which will only be a fraction of the total donation. Students will benefit from the income generated as a result of the endowment, Belvin added, and not directly from the endowment itself. "We'll proceed at pace with the growth in the income of the fund," he said. The Kravis Scholars Program will reduce the amount of loan debt and offer grant support and possibly financial assistance to subsidize the costs of studying abroad, Belvin said.

The first awards are scheduled for the incoming freshman class, although recipients have not yet been chosen, he said. In the future, award letters may be sent with University acceptance letters.

Although the University experienced a decrease in the number of black applicants in the last year, Christoph Guttentag, director of the office of undergraduate admissions, said that "any scholarship of this sort is certainly going to help us attract African American students to Duke."

Over the past 10 years, the University's financial aid has doubled, now totaling $42 million dollars in scholarship grants, loans and campus jobs. This financial assistance helps a significant number of University students cover current tuition costs-$20,520 for Trinity College.