$3M Donation Brings Huston-Tillotson University Closer to Building Mental Health Clinic

Austin, Texas -- It's the largest gift Huston-Tillotson has ever received.

On Thursday, the historic black university announced that Ada Anderson, a 92-year-old graduate, had donated $3 million to pay for the initial construction phase of the school's mental health clinic. It will be called the Sandra Joy Anderson Community Health and Wellness Center in honor of the donor's daughter.

As a child, Anderson wanted to be a mathematician, but in the segregated south of her time, she says African-American women had to be strategic about their choices; instead, she got a degree in Home Economics. "That was the only opportunity, the only opportunity that I had to get a college degree," Anderson says.

Dressed in a white jacket and wearing gold flats, Anderson shares some of her life experiences. She was a teacher. But then married and she and her husband owned insurance and real estate businesses. They were politically active and met LBJ in person, plus John and Bobby Kennedy.

More at http://kut.org/post/donation-brings-huston-tillotson-university-closer-building-mental-health-clinic .