Howard University Announces $200,000 Service and Justice Scholarship Fund Endowed in Memory of Alumnus David Neal McGruder, Esq.
Howard University is pleased to announce a newly endowed scholarship, starting with more than $200,000 raised, created in memory of alumnus David Neal McGruder, Esq. The scholarship will support students who serve others and fight for justice.
When McGruder (B.A. political science,’93) passed away unexpectedly on Christmas Day 2020 at age 49, his wife Depelsha Thomas McGruder (B.A. broadcast journalism,’94) knew the best way for loved ones to honor his legacy was by supporting students at his beloved Alma Mater.
“David loved the history, strength and brilliance of Howard University,” said Depelsha McGruder, chief operating officer at the Ford Foundation and founder of Moms of Black Boys United, Inc. “As former national fundraising chair of the Howard University Alumni Association, he was also dedicated to securing its future, financially. I am heartbroken by losing him and encouraged that family and friends believed in David’s vision enough to donate generously. We will continue to raise additional funds to build this endowment that will live at Howard University in perpetuity. I want our young sons, Garrett and Grant, to see the enduring legacy of their father.”
President Wayne A. I. Frederick thanked the McGruder family for celebrating David’s memory through an enduring gift to his Alma Mater that will live on through the lives of the next generation of Howard University students.
“This gift from family and friends of David McGruder has tremendous symbolic significance as well as real-world impact,” said President Frederick. “By any standard of measurement, David did a tremendous amount of good in his life. And through this endowment, his legacy of justice will continue in the next generation of students. On behalf of Howard University and the future changemakers who will benefit from this generosity, I am tremendously grateful for David’s life of service and those who have chosen to pay tribute to him through this gift.”