Michael Jordan is donating $10 million to the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill’s School of Social Work, the largest gift in the school’s history, in honor of his mother, Deloris Jordan, the News & Observer reports.
The NBA great and UNC alum announced the gift Oct. 5, continuing a decades-long relationship between the Jordan family and the university. The donation comes 30 years after Jordan helped establish the Jordan Institute for Families with a gift in 1996.
As part of the latest donation, the school’s Global Social Development Innovation Center has been renamed the Deloris P. Jordan Global Social Development Innovations Center. Founded in 2017, the center focuses on addressing social challenges affecting marginalized young people worldwide.
“Mom, I love you,” Jordan said in a recorded video played during the announcement. “I’m incredibly proud to honor you in this way.”
The donation will also support the Jordan Family Scholars Program, which provides financial assistance to students pursuing master’s degrees in social work at UNC. Ten scholars recognized during the announcement will each receive a $12,500 scholarship.
“This gift is really an investment in you: the next generation of social workers,” Jordan said. “The work you’ve chosen to do matters. It changes families, communities, and lives, and we need you here in North Carolina and around the world.”
School of Social Work Dean Ramona Denby-Brinson said the gift could help address a shortage of social workers serving children, older adults, people affected by substance use, and people with intellectual or developmental disabilities in North Carolina.
The investment will also expand opportunities for students to gain international experience. Students will be able to travel to Kenya to work and learn at the Kenya Women’s and Children’s Wellness Center, which Deloris Jordan founded in Nairobi in 2010 to support survivors of gender-based violence and child abuse.
Deloris Jordan has served on the School of Social Work’s Board of Advisors for nearly four decades, supporting the school and its work with families and communities. She said she remains indebted to the university that “adopted my family.”
The announcement, which coincided with Deloris Jordan’s birthday, also kicked off the Deloris P. Jordan Global Social Development Innovations Center’s two-day Global Research Symposium focused on global youth development.
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