College dropout donates $20m to university he was forced to leave almost 60 years ago because he couldn’t afford it

Donation 'believed to be largest contribution of its kind to any Historically Black College or University,' university website states

In 1963, Calvin Tyler was forced to dropped out of college for financial reasons, and became a UPS driver to pay the bills. He worked his way up in the company, eventually becoming director and senior vice president of its US operations.

Now, he and his wife Tina Tyler are pledging $20m to his old school, Morgan State University, to help people who can't finish their education because of financial struggle.

His donation “is believed to be the largest contribution of its kind to any Historically Black College or University,” the university’s website states.

Mr Tyler toldThe New York Times: “I want to provide scholarships for young bright people so that they can graduate, get their degrees, and come out of college debt-free. Going to college for four years and coming out with a degree and, at the same time, $80,000 to $100,000 in debt puts the person behind.”

Mr Tyler started his studies at Morgan State College, as it was called back then, in 1961 to study business administration. He was the first in the family to go to college and aimed to also be the first to earn a degree but was forced to end his college career in 1963 because of hardships with funding, ABC News writes.

He lived in eight cities and was promoted time and again during his time at UPS until his retirement in 1998. He applied in part to the company because the ad for the job said the company promoted people from within its own ranks.

Mr Tyler toldThe New York Times: “Fortunately, UPS saw that I had the potential to take on bigger and bigger jobs. I was always willing with my wife to move out of our comfort zone. That’s the type of person I am, I wasn’t afraid to take a chance.”

The donation puts a spotlight on the issue of student debt, which hits African Americans particularly hard. Astudy by the Brookings Institute states: “The moment they earn their bachelor’s degrees, black college graduates owe $7,400 more on average than their white peers.”

Mr Tyler said student loan debt was “way out of whack in this country”.

The president of Morgan State University, David Wilson, said in a statement: “Morgan is so proud to call this son and daughter of the great City of Baltimore our own, and through their historic giving, the doors of higher education will most certainly be kept open for generations of aspiring leaders whose financial shortfalls may have kept them from realising their academic dreams.”

Dr Wilson told The Times: “Calvin knew that heavy student loan debt is crippling too many first-generation college students. The Tylers are doing their part to try and minimize that.”

The Calvin and Tina Tyler Endowed Scholarship Fund has so far aided 222 students at the university through 46 full scholarships 176 partial ones.