Batten donates $10M to Hollins University scholarship program

Hollins University announced Thursday it has received a $10 million gift from alumna Jane Parke Batten to support a need-based scholarship program.

Batten’s gift is one of the largest donations in Hollins’ history and will fund scholarships for students through the graduating class of 2032. Known as the Hollins Opportunity for Promise through Education (HOPE) Scholarship program, it helps high-achieving students who need financial assistance attend the university.

A Virginia Beach philanthropist through her family’s foundation, Batten has made major donations to multiple Virginia universities and colleges, including $100 million to start William & Mary’s Batten School of Coastal and Marine Sciences in 2024. In July, Virginia Wesleyan University will be renamed Batten University for her family’s generosity.

“This is a defining moment for Hollins and for the future of the HOPE Scholarship program,” Hollins President Mary Dana Hinton said in a statement. “Jane’s extraordinary generosity ensures that talented students can access a Hollins education and fully engage in the opportunities that prepare them to lead. This investment affirms both our mission and our momentum.”

The HOPE Scholarship was launched in 2021 and is designed to make college more affordable for students with financial need. The scholarship first focused on students from the Roanoke Valley, but expanded nationally in 2024 to include students who qualify for federal Pell Grants.

Unlike most scholarships, HOPE covers not just tuition but also housing, meals and required fees. About half of incoming first-year students now receive HOPE scholarships. In addition to financial support, the program offers success coaching, mentoring and opportunities such as internships, study abroad and research projects.

The timing of the donation comes as the program reaches a milestone. This spring, the first group of HOPE students from the Roanoke region will graduate, and this fall, a group of HOPE recipients from across the country will enroll.

Hollins currently invests about $22 million each year on financial aid for students based on merit and need.

The incoming fall 2026 HOPE cohort has an average GPA of 3.9 and is expected to be active in campus life and leadership roles.

Global exchange and environmental health

Earlier in April, the university announced that Batten made significant gifts toward Hollins’ study-abroad programs and public health offerings. While Hollins did not provide specific financial terms, it said the gifts would provide six-figure annual donations for both programs and a future endowment.

Part of that funding will create a new study-abroad partnership with Lakeland University-Japan and VWU, based in Virginia Beach. The program, known as Global Leaders Exchange, will give students opportunities to study in Tokyo either during a January term or for a full semester, with some costs covered for students with financial need.

Hollins also plans to launch a women’s summer leadership program that brings together students from all three schools.

The funding will also expand the environmental health focus within Hollins’ public health major, including a new faculty position, expanded paid internships and more hands-on learning opportunities in the U.S. and abroad. The public health major launched six years ago and is the university’s fastest-growing major.

“This allows us to build on a growing program,” Hollins Provost Laura McLary said in a statement. “The funding will expand opportunities that help students land placements in graduate study and careers in public health after completing their public health degree at Hollins.”

Batten graduated from Hollins in 1958. Along with her late husband, Frank Batten Sr., she has long been known for major philanthropic support of colleges and universities in Virginia. Frank Batten was the former chairman and CEO of Landmark Communications and a co-founder of The Weather Channel.

Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary, Hollins today has a 475-acre campus in Roanoke. It is one of the nation’s oldest institutions of higher education for women and today enrolls approximately 800 undergraduate and graduate students.