ALBION, MI (WTVB) – A $7.5 million gift left to Albion College will pay the tuition bill for incoming students this fall.
The largest gift ever given to the college came from former student Robert Richmond, who died last October due to pancreatic cancer. The funds will be used to help students afford college in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Richmond attended Albion College in the early 1960s and attended the school for two years. He then attended the University of Michigan before graduation from Central Michigan University with a degree in business administration.
The funds are being used to cover the cost of tuition for graduating Michigan high school seniors and transfer students at Albion through the Michigan 2020 Promise scholarship.
The college will cover 100% of tuition and fees for families that make less than $65,000 a year, after the Michigan Tuition Grant and federal Pell Grant are applied. Families that make more than $65,000 will also be eligible for up to $135,000 in scholarship money for the course of four years.
Tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year at Albion is set at $50,070.
School officials say fall enrollment numbers are up for Albion College for 2020-2021. At the end of last month, nearly 600 incoming freshmen said they planned to attend, an increase from 436 at the same time last year, according to the college.
Richmond and his wife, Lois, created B&L Plastics in Rockford, Michigan, and later started B&L Development.
