The University of Indianapolis announced a $5.2 million donation from J.J. and Mary Kaye Ott last month, in the form of a scholarship endowment, according to a university press release, with the goal of benefiting students for years to come.
According to University of Indianapolis President Tanuja Singh, the endowment will benefit students in numerous majors. She said at least 50 students will be able to receive benefits from the endowment. She described the gift as one that grows over time, and said she hopes the endowment will help open doors for students interested in attending college but may have financial difficulty getting there otherwise.
“One of our big promises [is] that we want to make sure that education is affordable and accessible,” Singh said. “So this enables us to expand that promise to a group of students who might not otherwise have had this.”
Singh said a donation of this significance and amount empowers the university to support students financially who wish to pursue higher education at UIndy. She described the gift as very generous, and hopes its impact will be felt long into the future. According to Singh, an endowment is different from an unrestricted gift.
“We got $5.2 million, and the investment income from that endowment, if you will, is what translates into what we can spend,” Singh said. “Imagine if you put money in the bank, and, essentially you are using the interest, if you will, but this is the income that we will use.”
Singh said there is a percentage of income earned from the endowment, which the university will spend on scholarships. Meanwhile, according to Singh, the original gift is preserved, allowing it to continue earning income and benefitting future generations of students. The press release stated the donors, the Otts, met at Indiana Central College, UIndy’s former name, while they were students, and married while still attending the university. The release says J.J. Ott graduated from the university in 1972, going on to have a successful career in healthcare administration, while Mary Kaye Ott continued taking classes at the university. UIndy Board of Trustees Chair Deborah Daniels said in the press release that she hopes the endowment will give students an opportunity to enjoy the education provided by UIndy regardless of the point in their life or learning journey they are at.
