The grant renewal, which provides funding through 2030, is part of a joint $16.5 million investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Judy and Fred Wilpon Family Foundation to support the national Kessler Scholars Collaborative. Brown is among 15 universities and colleges receiving renewed grant support, in partnership with the American Talent Initiative, a national effort to increase college access and success for students from limited-income backgrounds.

For Brown, the Kessler Scholars Program represents the evolution and growth of the previous First-Generation College and Low-Income Scholars Program, which offered a similar experience to 16 first-year students each year since 2018. Enabled by an initial five-year, $1 million grant Brown received in 2022, the Kessler Scholars Program spans all four years of undergraduate study and accommodates larger cohorts of 20 members. 

In addition to Brown, 14 other institutions received grant renewals: Bates College, Centre College, Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, Queens College, St. Francis College, Saint Mary’s College (Indiana), Syracuse University, The Ohio State University, University of California, Riverside, University of Dayton, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Pittsburgh, and Washington University in St. Louis. The University of Michigan, which launched the original Kessler Scholars Program with support from the Wilpon Family Foundation, continues to operate with endowed funding.