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Los Angeles - Denzel Washington has donated over $2m to Fordham University in New York.
The Oscar-winning actor - who graduated from the college in 1997 - gave the huge sum and a further $225 000 to the establishment to help form a theatre professorship and undergraduate scholarship scheme for theatre majors.
In a statement, he said: "I wanted to create the Denzel Washington Endowed Scholarship and Chair in Theatre at Fordham in order to offer the next generation of students positive influences . Show me a successful individual, and I'll show you someone who has had positive influences in his or her life."
Actress Phylicia Rashad - who is best known for playing Clair Huxtable on sitcom The Cosby Show - has joined the college faculty as the first Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre.
Contribution
The school - which is ranked among the top 60 universities in the US - will subsequently bring in new guest lecturers from the theatre discipline each autumn.
University executive Roger Milici jnr has praised Denzel for his generous contribution to the school, saying: "His international reputation and star power will certainly bring greater interest to Fordham programmes and greater support for our mission."
Since graduating the 56-year-old actor has gone on to have an incredible career in Hollywood.
He is a two-time Academy Award winner, scooping the Best Supporting Actor prize for Glory in 1989, and the highly coveted Best Actor Oscar in 2001 for his role in Training Day, and has starred in several acclaimed movies including Philadelphia, American Gangster and Man on Fire.
