Dec. 8, 2025, 2:57 p.m. CT
East Central University in Ada now is sixth Oklahoma higher-education institution in recent weeks to receive a multimillion-dollar gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
East Central announced a $17 million gift from Scott on Monday, Dec. 8. Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, now has given a cumulative $92 million to East Central, Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa and Enid, Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, College of the Muscogee Nation in Okmulgee, Seminole State College in Seminole and Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton.
Scott’s gifts all have come since Nov. 21. Northern, Northeastern State and Seminole State each received $17 million, Eastern Oklahoma State College received $16 million while the College of the Muscogee Nation received $8 million. Scott’s giving spree to Oklahoma schools is equivalent to about 8.1% of what the Oklahoma Legislature allocated for all of the state’s higher education system for the current fiscal year.
“We are profoundly grateful for this extraordinary gift to East Central University,” said Regent Jane McDermott of the Regional University System of Oklahoma, which governs East Central and Northeastern State. “This transformational investment affirms ECU’s longstanding commitment to empowering students and strengthening the communities we serve.”
ECU President Wendell Godwin said Scott’s gift comes at a pivotal time for ECU as construction continues on the new Dan Hays STEM Center/School of Nursing and the university advances its ECU Forward fundraising campaign, which aims to enhance campus facilities, strengthen academic programs and ensure students continue to have access to affordable educational opportunities.
Scott pledged in 2019 to give away most of her wealth, which Bloomberg estimates to be about $40.1 billion. Since mid-October, she’s given more than $900 million to more than 20 colleges and universities, including the six in Oklahoma. East Central said its gift came through Scott’s foundation, Yield Giving.
“Our leadership team will be very strategic and intentional about how the investment will be utilized across campus,” Godwin said. “We launched our new strategic plan this year and have already identified a number of areas for improvement across campus.
“We are deeply grateful that Yield Giving chose to invest in ECU. Their belief in our mission and the leadership team gives us great momentum moving forward. As we move through the process, some of the funds will be used immediately to enhance critical campus infrastructure, while additional funds will be endowed to support the University’s mission and long-term vitality for generations to come.”
East Central has 3,606 students, according to the most recent report to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. That represented a 9.3% increase from the 2024-25 school year, the highest among Oklahoma’s four-year universities.
The university is located in the same Pontotoc County town as the headquarters of the Chickasaw Nation, a major First Americans tribe.
