Four months to the day after donating more than $1.5 million to Morehouse College for new facilities and program development, tech mogul and philanthropist Robert F. Smith announced plans to pay off the student loan debt of the college’s graduating class of 2019 — a total estimated at over $40 million.
"My family is going to create a grant to eliminate your student loans!" -Robert F. Smith told the graduating Class of 2019 @RFS_Vista #MorehouseGrad2019 pic.twitter.com/etG8JhVA46
— Morehouse College (@Morehouse) May 19, 2019
Smith made the announcement during his commencement speech, where he served as the keynote speaker for the ceremony and received an honorary degree.
Smith is a venture capitalist with more than $46 billion in investments in dozens of tech companies through his firm Vista Equity Partners. According to federal data, 74 percent of incoming first-year students at Morehouse during the 2017 academic year received more than $7800 in student loans.
Robert F Smith if you are others looking to help pay off Stident loans please contact me. I am next in line for a miracle. Tract Fuller
Not only do I congratulate those Morehouse graduates but..wow but wow..I commend Mr. Smith for promising to pay off those loans. If it comes to fruition, this will probably be the best graduation them guys will ever see in their lives.
We need more men and women of his caliber, to reach back and give a lesson or a reminder how important is to be a positive role model, care enough to sponsor a small group of youngsters ln engineering, philosophy and arts(.. positive Hip Hop messaging ) mathematics and aerospace engineering. Or whatever your profession. spread the word” yes we can” and dr. Robert F Smith is a living example it takes a village it takes someone who cares.