Levines make new $11.5M donation to UNCC program to help service-minded students

For many people, getting involved in community service is the mark of a fulfilling life. A new, generous donation will allow UNC Charlotte to continue giving some college students a chance to hone their leadership skills to serve their communities.

Philanthropists Leon and Sandra Levine of the Leon Levine Foundation donated $11.5 million to the Levine Scholars Program, UNCC’s most prestigious merit-based scholarship. Levine Scholars was started in 2009, and the new donation will help fund the program through 2029, the university said Tuesday.

The $11.5 million donation isn’t the largest in school history. That came in 2014, when the Levines, through the foundation, gave Levine Scholars nearly $13 million.

Each year, the program provides 20 service-minded students a four-year scholarship to UNCC, valued at about $105,000 for in-state students and $155,000 for out-of-state students. The program also provides them with other opportunities, including studying abroad and internships at Charlotte-based nonprofits.

“Even before attending college, these accomplished students have shown their dedication to improving their local communities,” Leon Levine, the founder of Matthews-based Family Dollar Stores, said in a UNCC news release.

Levine Scholars alumni have gone on to receive Fulbright scholarships, study medicine, serve as lawyers and more, the university said.

The Levines have donated nearly $30 million to UNCC, making their foundation the largest cumulative donor in school history, the university said.

“Leon and Sandra Levine’s generous and continued support of the Levine Scholars Program has brought the best and brightest minds to UNC Charlotte,” Chancellor Sharon Gaber said in the release. “This latest gift ... will further enhance the program’s ability to equip the next generation of leaders with the tools, resources and environment needed to engage with the world around them in a significant way.”

This story was originally published August 3, 2021 at 4:47 PM.