Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced gifts totaling roughly $155 million this week to public, access‑oriented institutions, including $50 million to CSU‑East Bay, $50 million to Lehman College (CUNY), $38 million to Texas A&M‑Kingsville and $17 million to Seminole State College. The unrestricted donations target colleges serving low‑income, first‑generation and racially diverse students. Scott’s pattern of directing large, flexible gifts to minority‑serving and access institutions continues amid federal cuts to DEI and other campus programs; university leaders called the donations a crucial counterbalance as campuses navigate budgetary and policy headwinds.