Centre College in Kentucky receives $250-million all-stock gift

Centre College, a small liberal arts school in Kentucky, has received a $250-million all-stock donation to help establish a scholarship program for students majoring in science, computer science and economics, the school said Tuesday.

The donation, from the A. Eugene Brockman Charitable Trust, is the largest given to a liberal arts college, the school said. It is also among the largest ever received by any educational institution in the United States. The largest gift was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s $350-million donation to Johns Hopkins University, announced earlier this year. Bloomberg has given more than $1 billion to the school over the years.

Centre College, with an enrollment of 1,375 students, is in rural Danville, a town of about 18,000. It hosted the vice presidential debates in 2000 and 2012.

The donation, in the form of stock in Universal Computer Systems Holding Inc., will help fund scholarships, the school said. It is also the lead gift in the school’s current fundraising drive, the $500-million Third Century Campaign.

“The gift marks a fundamental transformation in Centre College’s ability to support students whose hard work, character and intellect have demonstrated their potential for leadership,” college President John A. Roush said. “The challenges and opportunities confronting our nation and world are increasingly complex, and the Brockman Scholars Program will empower talented young women and men with the knowledge, creativity and integrity necessary to address them.”

“Starting in the fall of 2014, 40 Brockman Scholarships will be funded each year for students majoring in the natural and computational sciences and economics, with a total of 160 students receiving the full-ride scholarships plus more benefits by 2017,” the school said.

The merit-based scholarships will cover tuition, room and board and fees — which will run $45,100 for the coming school year — as well as money to support study abroad, summer research and internships, according to the school.

Brockman formed the charitable trust in 1981. His son, Robert T. Brockman, attended Centre and is a former chairman of the school’s board of trustees.

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