Blank Family Gives UGA $1.5M
New scholarship seeks to assist need-based students entering College of Pharmacy.
The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has pledged $1.5 million to the University of Georgia to provide need-based student aid in two areas:
- The College of Pharmacy will receive $1 million to support students facing financial hardships.
- Five need-based scholarships for UGA students from Atlanta’s Westside neighborhoods will get $500,000 from the Blank Family Foundation, plus a matching donation from the Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program.
“I want to thank Arthur Blank and his family for supporting the top priority of the University of Georgia’s Commit to Georgia campaign,” university President Jere W. Morehead said. “These tremendous gifts will make a difference in the lives of so many students and their families for generations to come.”
The $1 million gift to the College of Pharmacy, coming from the foundation’s Molly Blank Fund, will establish the Molly and Max Blank Student Enrichment Endowment, named for Arthur Blank’s parents, who owned a successful pharmacy business in New York.
“We are extremely grateful to the Blank family for helping us create this endowment at the College of Pharmacy,” said Svein Øie, the college’s dean. “Because of the Blanks’ generosity, current and prospective pharmacy students who are experiencing hardships will receive support so that they can pursue their education and career aspirations. In turn, these students will give back to society by using their acquired knowledge to serve the health care needs of others.”
Students from the Westside Atlanta neighborhoods of English Avenue, Vine City and Castleberry Hill — those most affected by the construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium — will benefit from the new Angela and Arthur M. Blank Scholarship Fund, named for the Atlanta Falcons owner and his wife.
The first five scholarships have been awarded this fall to three freshmen and two other undergraduates.
Blank said his family is proud to support such life-expanding opportunities for deserving students. “The gift of education has the power to change one’s future, and that’s exactly what we hope these scholarships do for UGA scholars and Westside residents.”
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