University of the People Receives $10 Million Donation

PASADENA, CA (October 27, 2021) – University of the People (UoPeople) announced today that it has received a $10 million commitment from an anonymous donor.

“After reaching the milestone of 100,000 students, and with no plans to stop our growth to serve those most in need of higher education, UoPeople’s needs continue to expand,” said University of the People President Shai Reshef. “This transformational gift will enable us to open the gates of higher education to countless worthy students around the world and to continue the deepening of our academic rigor. I am overcome with gratitude for this extraordinary commitment, and I know that I can say the same of our staff and students.”

Founded by Reshef in 2009 with the belief that education is a basic human right, University of the People is the first non-profit, tuition-free, American, accredited online University. Currently serving over 100,000 students, the University is dedicated to providing access to higher education globally to help qualified high school graduates overcome the financial, geographic, political, and personal constraints keeping them from university studies. 10,500 of its students are refugees. Many others are undocumented, homeless, and others who would not have been able to obtain a college degree if it were not for UoPeople. Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, UoPeople announced its initiative to provide grants for Afghan women to continue their studies online from the relative safety of their homes.

UNESCO estimates that by 2025 there will be nearly 100 million people internationally seeking seats in universities that don’t exist. University of the People is dedicated to helping address this worldwide issue by providing affordable and accessible higher education opportunities to as many deserving students as possible.

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About University of the People

University of the People (UoPeople) is the Education Revolution. It is the first non-profit, tuition-free, American, accredited online university. Currently there are over 106,000 students from more than 200 countries and territories. Designed to open access to higher education globally, UoPeople helps qualified high school graduates overcome financial, geographic, political, and personal constraints keeping them from collegiate studies. The university offers associate and bachelor’s degree programs in business administration, computer science, and health science, as well as an MBA and M.Ed. program. Graduates of UoPeople can be found working at such companies as Deloitte, Amazon, Apple, Pfizer, Google, Microsoft and IBM. Chaired by NYU’s President Emeritus John Sexton, UoPeople’s President’s Council is comprised of two dozen leaders of the world’s foremost institutions. UoPeople collaborates with Harvard Business School Online, New York University, McGill University, and the University of Edinburgh and is supported by foundations such as the Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation and Hewlett Foundation. Learn more at www.uopeople.edu.