Howard University has received the largest donation in the university’s history. Howard has received a $10 million gift from the Karsh Family Foundation. The donation will be used for Howard’s Karsh STEM Scholars Program. The program will provide for scholarships that will pay for the tuition and fees for 30 students at Howard University each year.

Howard President Wayne Frederick told NBC News, “We were able to attract highly qualified students who can actually get into any major university in the country … but thought the idea of pursuing a degree in STEM with compatriots who look like them and had similar lived experiences would be attractive.”

Howard is the top producer of African-American undergraduates who earn a Ph.D. in science or engineering, according to a 2013 study.

The number of Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) students increased 47%, from 223,000 to 327,000 students, between 1976 and 2010 and then decreased 9%, to 298,000 students, between 2010 and 2017, according to a recent report by the National Center for Educational Statistics.

HBCUs represent less than 3% of colleges and universities in the United States but enroll 12% of all African-American students attending college. HBCUs produce 23% of all African-American college graduates.