SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga announced today that Terry and Patt Payne gave the University a $7 million gift to launch a new student success initiative.Gonzaga says it will also provide immediate financial support for students affected by reductions to the Washington College Grant.The Paynes’ gift includes $5 million to establish the Payne Student Success Initiative, which Gonzaga says will be “a comprehensive approach combining significant scholarship support with individualized mentoring, advising, peer support and intentional opportunities for student development.”The University said in a press release that beginning this school year, about 25 first-generation students from Washington, Montana, Oregon and Idaho will participate in the pilot Payne Student Success cohort. Those students will receive $25,000 annually in scholarships along “with individualized mentoring, advising and intentional opportunities for engagement and development.”An additional $2 million will support the Gonzaga Promise Fund, helping eligible students whose state financial aid was reduced remain on track toward graduation. The press release says:
Changes to Washington College Grant eligibility reduced state financial aid for approximately 210 members of Gonzaga’s Class of 2029 after they had already chosen Gonzaga and begun their education. For students and families who had built their college plans around the aid originally available to them, the reduction created an unexpected financial gap.
The Paynes’ support for the Gonzaga Promise Fund will help replace lost grant aid for eligible students, providing a reliable source of support through graduation and helping ensure that a change beyond their control does not interrupt their path to a Gonzaga degree.
The University wrote the gift’s “impact will be measured not only in scholarships awarded, but in students retained, opportunities pursued, degrees completed and graduates prepared to contribute to the world around them.”
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