‘An impact...for many, many years.’ Businessman gives $20 million to Miami Dade College
About 12,000 Miami Dade College students wore caps and gowns over three graduation ceremonies Saturday at the Marlins home stadium. What was announced between the first and second ceremonies in Little Havana will give several future years of students the chance to attend Miami Dade College.
Miami Dade College received the largest individual gift in school history, $20 million, from Citadel hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin to set up the Griffin Scholarship Fund for Miami-Dade high school graduates going to Miami Dade College.
“Talent is universal. Opportunity is not,” MDC President Madeline Pumariega told the Herald by phone Friday. “This is an opportunity for students in our county to get an education without having to worry about affordability. They can transform their families and their lives with a college degree.”
In addition to tuition and books, the school says the scholarship fund will help fund career coaching, international studies and help with transferring to universities for those who get an associate degree.
READ MORE: Why did Ken Griffin donate $25 million to a Miami area hospital?
Griffin’s a philanthropist to all levels of education because, he says, “Education is the on ramp of the American Dream.”
“It’s about how we make America’s schools work better for our students and our country,” Griffin said in explaining why he gives so much to educational institutions, “whether it’s the Success Academy in New York, which has done a tremendous job in K-12 education; or, our great universities in the northeast; or schools such as Miami Dade, which are such a huge, huge first generation opportunity. These are all really important institutions.”
Also, the man who made billions trading and investing sees the gift as investing in the city to which he moved Citadel’s headquarters last year.
“Every great city is anchored by its universities. It’s that simple,” Griffin said before giving the keynote speech at Saturday’s second graduation ceremony.
Griffin was born in Daytona Beach, the son of a man who worked on the U.S. space program, and went to Harvard after graduating from Boca Raton Community High School.
“The president spoke about half the students here are first generation to go to college,” he continued. “And both of my parents were the first to go to college. So, there’s certainly a nostalgic element. In my family, my parents benefited from a college degree and were able to pursue much more interesting lives. And, I like to believe that will be the case for the students who come here.”
READ MORE: Billionaire Griffin hopes his $5 million gift will boost soccer development in Miami
When asked if this will benefit future students now in middle school, Pumariega said it would and “This will have an impact on students for many, many years.”
This story was originally published April 22, 2023 at 3:48 PM.
