The Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church presented a $255,150 check to Wiley University President and CEO Herman J. Felton, Jr., during his State of the University address on Oct. 23, as part of Homecoming 2026. The gift is the first major donation to the university's $5 million UNCF Endowment Match Campaign.
Under UNCF's Endowment Match Program, UNCF will match the campaign's donations dollar-for-dollar, so every donation to the campaign will be doubled, officials said. Felton said in a news release that the conference's gift was a statement of faith in the university's students.
Methodist leaders said in a news release that Wiley University was founded in 1873 by the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church and remains affiliated with The United Methodist Church. Alumni, friends, churches and partners are invited to donate to the campaign.