DANVILLE, Ky. — A tiny liberal arts school in rural Kentucky that hosted vice presidential debates in 2000 and 2012 announced a $250 million donation Tuesday, one of the largest single gifts in higher education history.
The all-stock donation to Centre College from the A. Eugene Brockman Charitable Trust ranks among the 20 biggest gifts ever to a US college or university, according to a list maintained by the Chronicle of Higher Education. It is the second-largest such gift to a US school since 2011, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, surpassed only by the $350 million donation by Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York to Johns Hopkins University.
Centre said Tuesday it will use the money to set up scholarships for students majoring in natural sciences, economics, and computational sciences.
The school, which has produced two US vice presidents, will award the scholarships to students who ‘‘have a very good chance of making a mark on the world,’’ said Richard Trollinger, a campus vice president.