The Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation donated $545,000 to support Rowan students, the university announced on Feb. 17.

Of the over half a million dollars gifted, $450,000 was put toward establishing the Diana King Memorial Scholarship Fund, which is the namesake of the late founder of the King Family Foundation. This fund will support students within the Ric Edelman College of Communication and Creative Arts (CCCA).

“We have tremendous confidence in the capabilities and capacity of our students and are thrilled that the King Family Foundation shares this view,” said Dean Sanford Tweedie of the Edelman CCCA in the university’s Feb. 17 announcement. “The donation is especially timely, as the financial impact on students has been exacerbated by the pandemic.”

The foundation donated an additional $55,000 toward supporting Rowan students impacted by COVID-19, as well as $40,000 toward a new online tutoring program called Smarthinking.

According to the university’s advancement division, Smarthinking is a Pearson product that will give students access to “live, personalized, online tutoring 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” This service will help bolster Rowan’s peer tutoring service, which typically serves over 5,000 students every year but has encountered limitations due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation is a New Jersey non-profit organization founded by Diana King, daughter of the late Lucille and Charles King. The couple founded King World Productions Inc. (KWP Studios) in 1964, which would eventually acquire the syndication rights for shows like “The Little Rascals,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Inside Edition,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Jeopardy!” and “Dr. Phil.”

The King Family Foundation has supported Rowan and other educational institutions financially since its founding in 1988 and has specifically focused on offering assistance to students studying film, TV, and other media who demonstrate financial need.

For comments and questions, tweet @TheWhitOnline.