Truist Financial Corporation has made a $100,000 donation to Bowie State University to provide students a lifeline of much needed funds to continue their education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Truist’s gift of emergency aid for students initiates a partnership with Maryland’s first historically black college and university (HBCU) to support students experiencing hardships during the pandemic and create opportunities for them to prepare for their future careers. The emergency funding is for students whose needs have been identified through the financial aid process.
“We are grateful for the ongoing partnership between Truist and Bowie State University and for this extraordinary gift that will make an immediate difference for students in need of financial assistance to afford the final few courses of their college education,” said Brent Swinton, Bowie State’s vice president of institutional advancement. “Joining with our corporate and community partners, like Truist, strengthens Bowie State’s impact as an economic and cultural driver in this region and enhances our capacity to develop tomorrow’s leaders with innovative education programs.”
The partnership will create comprehensive career pathways for students through Truist to include mentoring, internships and employment opportunities.
“Our relationships with HBCUs, like Bowie State University, are very important to Truist, not only as a way to build up our communities, but also as a way to recruit top talent. It’s a long-term strategy that shows our commitment to higher education and Bowie State University,” said Thomas Ransom, Truist’s executive vice president and head of sales and client experience strategy, who leads the company’s HBCU initiatives.
