Georgia HBCU clears student balances for semesters during pandemic

Clark Atlanta University, a historically Black university in Georgia, has cleared its students’ balances from the 2020 semesters and spring and summer 2021 semesters. 

In a letter to students on Friday, Clark Atlanta President George T. French Jr. said that the university has cleared the financial debt of students for the past five semesters, bringing each student’s total account balance to zero dollars. 

“The past two academic years have been emotionally and financially challenging for you and your families due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” French wrote in his letter. “I understand. That is why I am personally thankful for your resilience, perseverance, and ‘find a way or make one’ attitudes.”

Through unprecedented federal funding via the CARES Act & the Higher Education Relief Fund, Clark Atlanta University clears student account balances for Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, & Summer 2021 academic terms.

Read @PrezGTFrench’s letter to #CAU students. https://t.co/VW0jqaRoUT pic.twitter.com/4atUxQ5esd

— Clark Atlanta Univ. (@CAU) July 25, 2021

In a statement, the university said it was able to do this with the support it received from the federal government’s CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. 

This comes as other historically Black colleges or universities such as Delaware State, South Carolina State and Wilberforce have taken similar actions to clear their student debt, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution report.

Clark Atlanta received a $15 million donation from Mackenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, last December, which was the largest philanthropic donation in the school’s history, the Journal-Constitution reported.