Scholarships
Student Experience
Creating Life-Changing Opportunities for Northwestern Students
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Northwestern University Trustee Adam R. Karr ’93 and Tonia Gladney Karr (’25, ’27 P) have a long history of giving to scholarships at the University and in their hometown of San Francisco. They have generously supported financial aid at Northwestern for more than 30 years, benefiting 77 students and counting.
The Karrs recently made their largest-ever gift to the University, in support of scholarships and an enrichment program for select first-generation and/or lower-income undergraduate students called Beacon Scholars. This transformative new gift will fund student tuition as well as experiences, such as study abroad and summer internships.
Now the Karrs are shaping the Forever Shine Campaign as its founding co-chairs. We sat down with them to learn about the campaign, the ripple effect of scholarships and more.
Why did you decide to co-chair the Forever Shine Campaign?
Tonia: Supporting students has always been very important to us. Both Adam and I were able to attend college because we received scholarships, and we want to create those opportunities for others. Anything that we can do to help support the next generation and their access to higher education is what we’d like to do.
Adam: I know firsthand what Northwestern can do. I was a first-generation college student, and without a scholarship I wouldn’t have gotten through the door, let alone sat alongside the caliber of faculty and peers I found here. I’ve said before that I believe talent is equally distributed, but access is not. The Forever Shine Campaign is about closing that gap. For Tonia and me, chairing wasn’t really a decision. It was an obligation.
Your investment in financial aid has already benefited 77 students at Northwestern. What has it been like to watch their stories unfold?
Adam: As an investor, I think in terms of the power of compounding, and watching these students is the best return I’ve ever seen. They arrive constrained by circumstance and leave transformed: pursuing internships, mentoring peers and coming back to help the next student. Many of them stay in touch, and their success is the clearest proof that we’re doing something right.
I met one student at a University reception who had spent every summer working to support her family. Because of the scholarship we helped fund, she was finally able to take an unpaid internship in the field she loved most: writing. That internship launched her career, and years later she came back to Northwestern to mentor first-generation students. That’s the ripple effect. One scholarship, and the circle keeps widening.
We talked about the importance of scholarships to you personally and to students. From your perspectives, why are scholarships important to Northwestern?
Tonia: Scholarships allow the best and the brightest students to choose Northwestern, which benefits the entire University community. In addition, tuition does not cover the full cost of attendance. It is vitally important for the University to have sustainable resources to support students, and as co-chairs and supporters of the campaign, we are 100% fully invested in making sure that happens.
Adam: We’re living through a moment of real change in higher education, and change has a way of clarifying what really matters. As a trustee, I can tell you that broad access and affordability are among Northwestern’s highest priorities. When we invest there, the payoff is real, and it compounds: stronger classrooms, greater socio-economic diversity, sustained academic excellence and alumni who come back to light the way for the next generation. That’s the best investment the University can make.
How can Northwestern alumni, parents and friends become a part of the campaign?
Tonia: We would love for you to join us in getting involved with the Forever Shine Campaign.
Adam: Give if you can. Volunteer to mentor students, host interns or share your story on the Forever Shine website. Every gift, every hour, every connection is a seed, and seeds compound.