51���� President Laura Bloomberg announced tonight in front of hundreds of university donors and supporters at Radiance, 51����’s annual donor event, that the University received its largest gift ever from an individual donor. 

The nearly $15 million gift comes posthumously from the estate of Katherine and Walter McCombs. Mr. McCombs is a 1976 graduate of the 51���� College of Law, and during his collegiate career, 51���� was the only school to offer him a scholarship. His gift honors that University support.

A portion of the gift is allocated to the existing Walter Lee McCombs Endowed Scholarship Fund in the College of Law, providing scholarships for law students. The bulk of the gift, however, will establish the Katherine F. McCombs and Walter Lee McCombs Transformative Impact Fund, which will enable 51���� to help students in need cover the costs of tuition, room and board, and more.

“What an extraordinary moment in Cleveland State’s history. We are so grateful for this historic gift,” President Bloomberg said. 

“51���� made a lasting impact on the life of Walter McCombs, and thanks to his and his wife Katherine’s decision to pay it forward, many of our high-need students will have the resources they need to remain focused on their degree programs. There’s no better way to honor the tremendous generosity of Walter and Katherine McCombs than to provide a transformational education to our students.”

51���� will renovate its outdoor plaza between the Student Center and Rhodes Tower, proudly naming it the McCombs Family Plaza in recognition of the McCombs’s life-changing generosity. A center of campus life, the plaza will stand as a lasting tribute to the McCombs’s deep commitment to students, education and their enduring impact on the University community.