George Lucas Pledges Another $10M to USC for Diversity Effort

The director's foundation earlier gifted the School of Cinematic Arts with $10 million in 2016 to offer priority financial aid to African-American and Hispanic students.

The George Lucas Family Foundation has gifted USC's School of Cinematic Arts with a second $10 million endowment, Dean Elizabeth M. Daley announced Monday.

The George Lucas Family Foundation Endowed Student Support Fund for Diversity, an effort to promote student diversity by offering priority financial aid consideration to African-American and Hispanic students, was first established during the fall 2016 semester with a $10 million endowment.

Students at both the undergraduate and graduate level, either known as George Lucas Scholars or Mellody Hobson Scholars, are considered to receive financial support from the fund.

"We are grateful that Mellody Hobson and George Lucas continue to provide visionary leadership on issues of diversity in our field," Michael Renov, vice dean of academic affairs, said in a statement. "This endowed fund allows us to recruit storytellers whose voices are underrepresented in cinematic media, and whose inclusion benefits all of us."

Back in 2006, the director's Lucasfilm Foundation donated $175 million to expand and renovate building structures at SCA, marking the single largest donation to USC in the school's history.

The Star Wars creator has also made other philanthropic efforts in recent years. In 2012, following the $4.05 billion sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, Lucas revealed his plans to put a large portion of the money into a foundation that will primarily focus on educational issues.

The director's $1 billion museum (Lucas Museum of Narrative Art), which will showcase pieces from his personal collection, is also eyeing a 2020 launch in Los Angeles.