Michael Jordan gives UNC's social work school $10 million

Michael Jordan has committed $10 million to the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in honor of his mother, Deloris P. Jordan. The university announced the gift at an event on campus on October 5 and says it is the largest single gift in the school's history.

"North Carolina will always be home, and I'm proud to support the social workers who are on the ground each and every day helping people navigate challenges, find opportunities and build stronger communities," Jordan said in the university's announcement. "I hope this gift helps make it possible for more students to pursue this important work."

Where the money goes

• A renamed global center. The Global Social Development Innovations Center, established in 2017 to develop and test approaches that support young people and their families, becomes the Deloris P. Jordan Global Social Development Innovations Center.
• The Jordan Institute for Families, which Jordan and his family founded in 1996. Its work includes maternal health, caregiving, home visiting, mental health and economic support.
• Scholarships. A new Jordan Family Scholars program supports Master of Social Work students facing increased financial barriers to graduate school. Ten students were named the first Jordan Family Scholars at the event, each receiving a $12,500 scholarship.

The announcement does not say how the $10 million is divided among the three.

A gift that follows a family's work

Deloris Jordan's ties to the university are long. "I am deeply proud to have been part of the Carolina family for more than 40 years," she said, "and it is especially meaningful to know that this gift will strengthen the education and opportunities available to those preparing to serve others." In 2010 she founded the Kenya Women and Children's Wellness Centre in Nairobi, which the university says has reached more than 203,700 people.

Dean Ramona Denby-Brinson said the gift "will have an immediate and lasting impact, reaching from our classrooms in Chapel Hill to the many organizations and communities we partner with in North Carolina and across the globe." The university presented the scholarships as a response to what it calls an urgent need for more social workers.

For fundraisers, the shape of the gift is familiar: a family name placed on work the family already cares about, joined to scholarships that reached ten students on the day it was announced.