Oprah Winfrey talks about the Gala on the "Tom Joyner Morning Show" Photo Credit: Harpo Productions, Inc/Fabrizio Ferri

ATLANTA, Feb. 24, 2004 – Oprah Winfrey shared a piece of her heart and a hefty piece of her checkbook with Morehouse College during the 137th Founder's Week. Oprah was awarded the first ever Candle for Lifetime Achievement in Humanitarian Service Award on Saturday, February 21, at the 16th annual "A Candle in the Dark" Gala.

During her acceptance speech, the talk show host, actress, producer, magazine founder and editorial director, educator and philanthropist made another $5-million commitment to educating students at Morehouse College. The money will go towards the Oprah Winfrey Endowed Scholarship Fund, which to date, the Oprah Winfrey Endowed Scholarship Fund has helped approximately 250 students from 20 states and seven countries continue or complete their education at Morehouse College. In 1989, Oprah gave the College her first gift of $1 million, which funded the Oprah Winfrey Endowed Scholarship Fund and in 1997 she made another $1 million gift to support scholarships. Last year, she donated $5 million for the public launch of The Campaign for a New Century. Her total contribution to the College is now $12 million.

"My dream was -- when I first started making money -- to pass it on and I wanted to put 100 men through Morehouse," said Winfrey. "Right now we're at 250 and I want to make it a thousand ... before I leave here tonight [Saturday] I want to leave another $5 million check with Dr. Massey."

"I think Oprah Winfrey expressed it best when she said: `When you empower a Morehouse man, you empower the world,'" said Morehouse College President Walter E. Massey. "Morehouse's primary mission is to empower young men - intellectually, socially and morally - to be leaders in their careers and in their communities. We are grateful that Oprah Winfrey not only shares our passion for educating these young men, but also generously shares her resources to help us make their education possible."

Oprah told her current scholars that her hope for them and for Morehouse is "to continue" and she shared a poem written for her by her mentor Dr. Maya Angelou titled "Continue." "My wish for you is that you continue," said Oprah. "Continue to float in the sea of intimate substance, which set aside riches for you before you ever had a name. And by doing so, you and your work will be able to continue, my sons, men of Morehouse, continue."

Ranked the number one college in the nation for educating African American students by Black Enterprise magazine, and by the Wall Street Journal as one of the top feeder schools for the 15 most prominent graduate and professional schools in the country. Morehouse College is the nation’s largest, private liberal arts college for men. Founded in 1867, the College enrolls approximately 3,000 students and confers bachelor’s degrees on more black men than any other institution in the world. The College offers 26 majors in three academic divisions: Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Mathematics, and Business and Economics. Morehouse offers a number of programs and activities to enhance its challenging liberal arts curriculum through the Leadership Center at Morehouse College, Morehouse Research Institute, and Andrew Young Center for International Affairs.

Prominent alumni include Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize laureate and civil rights leader; Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General and director of the National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine; Sheldon “Spike” Lee, filmmaker and president of 40 Acres & A Mule Productions; Maynard H. Jackson, president of Jackson Securities and the first African-American mayor of Atlanta; and Nima A. Warfield, the first African-American Rhodes Scholar from an Historically Black College or University.

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