Anonymous donors gifted $10 million to University of Wisconsin’s Chancellor’s Scholarship Program to help support underrepresented ethnic minority students and socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

The donation, announced Wednesday, is a matching gift, which the anonymous donors hope will inspire others to donate to CSP, according to a UW statement.

$250 million donation to UW will go to research, faculty support

UW Foundation spokesperson Alisa Robertson said the donors are longtime supporters of CSP and have been committed to improving campus diversity for many years.

“We are incredibly fortunate that generous alumni and friends have provided opportunities that help improve the student experience in so many areas including programmatic support, scholarships, facilities, faculty excellence and more,” Robertson said.

CSP is a scholarship that covers the cost of tuition and fees. Originally established in 1984, CSP serves to increase educational opportunities for “academically talented” underrepresented students and socioeconomic disadvantaged students. There are currently 255 CSP students enrolled at UW.

Million dollar donation will bring more active learning to lectures

CSP-enrolled students have a wide variety of majors. Many enrolled students continue to pursue graduate and professional degrees in their fields. According to the UW statement, CSP students enrolled in UW in 2011 had a four-year graduation rate of 71.7 percent.

Heather Kozlowski, a senior CSP engineering student, said in the statement the donation will allow CSP to add faculty members to the program to serve as mentors.

These mentors will help students remain competitive academically and continue on with their education.

“We have competitive internships and will be attending top grad schools,” Kozlowski said. “My peers inspire me and I am constantly reminded and motivated to keep up.”