Huston-Tillotson University alum Ada Cecilia Collins Anderson donated $3 million to her alma mater Monday. The amount is the largest in the East Austin, Texas, school’s history, according to a statement from the HBCU.
The gift will help fund the Sandra Joy Anderson Community Health and Wellness Center, which is named for Anderson’s late daughter.
Ada Anderson, 92, has been a longtime civil rights advocate in Austin. She attended Austin’s two predominantly Black colleges, Samuel Huston and Tillotson (the colleges merged in 1952), where she received a degree in home economics in 1941. She received her master’s degree in educational psychology in 1965 from The University of Texas at Austin. She and her husband, M. Jack “Andy” Anderson Sr., founded the Anderson-Wormley real estate and insurance firm.
“As a community leader, trailblazer, and champion of civic causes, Mrs. Anderson exemplifies the spirit of the Community Health and Wellness Center which is conceptualized to bring together the community and campus offerings to focus on holistic approaches to health,” said President Larry L. Earvin. “We applaud her efforts to rally the community in support of the components of the HT mission.”
