Posted on May 7, 2008

Osher Foundation Pledges $50 Million to Aid Needy California Community-College Students

The San Francisco-based Bernard Osher Foundation has pledged up to $50 million to the California Community College system to help low-income students at California community colleges, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

The gift will be used to create an endowment for the 109-school system that will be managed by the Foundation for California Community Colleges in Sacramento. Half the pledge will be paid immediately, while the additional $25 million will be dispensed over the next three years as FCCC works to raise an additional $50 million. According to Osher president Mary Bitterman, the foundation has given millions to universities in recent years, but community colleges need significantly more financial assistance than they have received in the past.

With 2.6 million students, California's community-college system is the world's largest public college system. The new endowment is expected to support 1,250 scholarships in 2009 and eventually provide 5,000 per year. The foundation is expected to announce an additional $20 million gift to several public universities in the state to help community-college students who transfer.

According to FCCC president Paul Lanning, potential donors to community colleges simply haven't been asked to provide support. "[The Osher gift] shows that we warrant public support," he said. "There's a very clear disparity between what we do and how we're funded. We can't keep relying on public funding."