George Lucas and Wife Mellody Hobson Donate $10 Million to Latin and African-American Studies

Major filmmaker George Lucas and and his wife Mellody Hobson, have made a major contribution to the Latino and African-American community through education.

The couple has gifted the University of Southern California with $10 million to fund Latino and African-American studies. The generous donation will establish the George Lucas Family Foundation Endowed Student Support Fund for Diversity. As Variety reports, the gift marks the largest single donation for student support in the school's history.

"Hispanic and African American storytellers are underrepresented in the entertainment industry," Lucas said. "It is Mellody's and my privilege to provide this assistance to qualified students who want to contribute their unique experience and talent to telling their stories."

Financial support from the fund will be distributed to qualifying Hispanic and Black students enrolled in USC School of Cinematic Arts. The recipients of the scholarships will be called George Lucas or Mellody Hobson Scholars. An equal amount of funding will be distributed among female and male students beginning Fall 2016.

While George Lucas is known for his art, Mellody Hobson is known for being rather business savvy. She is an investment expert and the president of Ariel investments, as TED describes as a value-driven money management firm. She is also a noted advocate for financial literacy and investor education. Hobson's accolades include chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation as well as director of Estee Lauder and Starbucks Corporation.

As Variety explains, Lucas graduated from USC in 1966 and has made generous contributions to aspiring art students before. He donated $175 million to USC's film school in 2006. $75 million of that donation was used to rename and rebuild the now "state-of-the-art cinema school." Moreover, this is not Hobson's first contribution to the University of Southern California either. This past summer, she was the commencement speaker for the 2015 University of Southern California class.

"George Lucas and Mellody Hobson are inspiring leaders in their fields, and tremendous friends to the USC community," said USC President C. L. Max Nikias. "This gift will nurture the next generation of artists, supporting scholarships that enhance access in the cinematic arts, while bringing new and diverse voices and stories into our lives."