The money will fund scholarships for undergraduate students.
Alumnae Hall, Hood College (Photo from Hood College)
Frederick, Md (KM) It’s the single largest contribution to Hood College. The Hodson Trust has donated $54-million to the school. Hood President Andrea Chapdelaine says the money will be used to fund scholarships for undergraduate students as part of the Hodson Scholarship program. “We know currently about 20 percent of our student body receive a scholarship from the Hodson Scholarship program, and that’s before this gift. So this will only increase that more,”: she says.
Hood College says this $54-million gift increases Hood endowment by 42 percent, and will have an “unprecedented impact” on the school’s financial aid resource pool. “By having scholarships, by having some of the programs that the Hodson Trust has supported, we’re able to ensure that our students not only come to Hood, but are also able to graduate and be successful,” says President Chapdelaine.
She says Hood College has information on financial aid for students, including the Hodson Scholarships. .Interested students can go to the Hood website and click on the admissions’ page. “Through our scholarships and grant programs as well as, of course, the students who receive support from the State of Maryland and the federal government, that they are able graduate with debt that they are able to pay back,” says President Chapdelaine.
According to Chapdelaine, 99 percent of the students who graduated in 2023 are employed, or are attending graduate school or professional school.
The Hodson Trust has been making donations to Hood College for 103 years. “The vast majority of that has gone into scholarships, although they also have helped with some buildings on campus, student support programs as well as faculty research and support, so some endowed chairs, for example,” ;says President Chapdelaine.
The trust was established by Colonel Clarence Hodson, who inherited his strong interest in education from his father. “Colonel Clarence Hodson and his wife, Lillian, visited the college in the 1920’s and fell in love with it, and decided that they wanted focus their philanthropic efforts on Hood College,” says President Chapdelaine. “They believed in higher education. They were supporting other institutions of higher education. But Hood kind of caught their eye, and became one of their beloved colleges that they’ve given so generously to. And the Trust continued to do that.”
The Hodson Trust dissolved in November, 2022.
President Chapdelaine says this is a great moment for Hood College. “This is a historic day for Hood, the single largest donation in the College’s history,” she says. “And will serve not only our students, but make Hood continue to be a strength and anchor institution in this community. Very proud and happy to be part of that celebration.”
By Kevin McManus