MacKenzie Scott’s $17 million donation to Northern Oklahoma College arrived amid an expanding wave of billionaire gifts that are reshaping higher education funding models and governance. Institutions receiving large, unrestricted donations say the funds offer flexibility for scholarships and mission-driven projects. At the same time, reporting shows a new cohort of wealthy donors and activists is playing an outsized role in university governance — from pressuring boards to oust presidents to influencing curricular priorities — raising questions about transparency and institutional independence.