UNION COUNTY -- A nationally recognized university in Union County has gone from having to explain why it inflated students' SAT scores.
To getting a big boost from donors who appreciated the way Bucknell University handled the issue.
Bucknell University has ranked high on the list of colleges nationwide when it comes to SAT scores. But recently, school officials realized they had a problem on their hands.
They discovered that average student SAT scores had been inflated dating back to 2006.
"Told everyone mistakes were made, changing policies and procedures and weren't happening again," said Bucknell president John Bravman.
Bucknell University is in the middle of a half-billion dollar fundraising campaign known as "We do". This past January, information came to light about inflated SAT scores here on campus. Within days of that announcement, Bucknell's president received word a couple would be donating 10 million dollars.
Bucknell president John Bravman says the couple wants to remain anonymous. And put up the ten million because they respected the way the university handled the SAT issue, admitting the problem and doing something to prevent it from happening again.
As an endowment, the ten million should last forever. Helping students like Paul Sierra of Ecuador pay for an education at Bucknell University.
Paul said: "Being able to get a scholarship and funding from someone anonymous is just very generous."
Parents of prospective students. On a tour of campus. Say it bodes well for the university to have negative publicity result in something so positive, the third largest donation in Bucknell history.
"It's a good sign that Bucknell handled it in a way that they felt so positive they wanted to reward them for turning something around into a positive aspect," said Ede Nault Orlando
And if you're wondering who was behind the donation, Bucknell leaders are not likely to spill the beans.
"We're not giving out any hints, other than to say they really love Bucknell, and we really love them," Bravman concluded.