Loyola University Maryland announced its first-ever eight-figure gift last month. Less than a week later, it announced another. Then two weeks ago, a third.

The trio of alumni gifts netted $32 million for the private Jesuit university in North Baltimore.

“These gifts mark an inflection point for Loyola University Maryland,” said Brian Oakes, the university’s vice president for advancement. “They are truly a signal that our alumni and our friends have confidence in the direction the university is going.”

The first gift, $10 million delivered by 1973 graduate John Cochran III and his wife, Patricia, at the start of December, was then the largest in university history. It will advance a scholarship fund for Baltimore-based students and establish a fund and center for faculty professional development.

Less than a week later, the university announced another $10 million gift, this time from 1974 graduate H. Edward Hanway and his wife, Ellen, to support the renovation and expansion of the university’s science center. The money will also create a leadership program for nursing students and establish an endowed professorship.

And last week, 1994 business school graduate Susan Bloomfield and her husband, Bill, gave the university $12 million to support the expansion of the science center and establish a scholarship fund for first-generation students.

“I am quite confident in the direction that the University is headed and the strategic decisions that have been made to ensure a robust future,” Susan Bloomfield said in a statement. “I am extraordinarily impressed with the results that Loyola is able to achieve with the success of its students.”

Oakes said these benefactors have long histories of generosity to the university and that “these gifts certainly didn’t happen overnight.”

Founded in 1852, Loyola University Maryland educates about 5,100 students. Just under 4,000 of them are undergraduates. About a third are Maryland residents, 56% are women and 34% are students of color. The university’s endowment is $345 million.

The cost of attendance at the private university for the 2026-27 academic year is estimated to be $61,810 — that includes tuition, housing and food. But according to the university’s website, 99% of students receive financial aid, and the average price for first-time students who receive need-based financial aid is $34,711.

About the Education Hub

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Ripley, Mississippi — A large white generator on a flatbed tow truck was a beacon of hope Thursday for the volunteer fire department in the small northern Mississippi community of Gravestown, which has been without power and running water for five days following an ice storm the likes of which the state hasn’t seen in more than 30 years.

“We’re very grateful for them,” Gravestown Fire Chief Kenny Childs told CBS News of the dozens of generators that have been distributed statewide by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the wake of the storm. “We had no water, no power, no nothing. So, you know, it is great.”

Childs said he’s been informed by the leadership of his local electric company that it will be another seven to 15 days before his community gets power restored, so the generator will be a crucial item for the near future.

“That’s a lot with no power,” Childs said.

FEMA has sent 90 generators to Mississippi since last weekend’s storm. Subcontractors hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are installing them at critical agencies and businesses, like long-term care facilities, hospitals, water districts and fire departments.

Childs said the generator at his fire house will not only help his team respond to emergencies, but it will also provide a warm shelter for Gravestown residents to come stay and charge their electronic items, such as cell phones.

“It will help the community, and it will help us, it’s wonderful,” Childs said.

Senior electrician Kenny Jones, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been traveling the Southeast for several days to help install the generators in hard-hit areas.

“It’s amazing,” Jones said. “Actually, you see the smile on people’s faces when you actually bring power to them, and they get hot water again and able to take showers. Just a cozy feeling on the inside.”

About an hour south, in Oxford, Mississippi, hundreds of power crews from several neighboring states have arrived to help repair miles of downed power lines the storm left in its wake.

Keith Hayward, CEO of the Northeast Mississippi Power Association, said the ice accumulation was overwhelming, despite an updated, more reinforced system in place.

“We believe we had an inch-and-a-quarter (of) ice over most of our system, which is basically a record for anything around this area,” Hayward said. “We’ve had tree damage that is unbelievable… and by the time the ice loading gets to that kind of loading, with an inch of ice on either side, those poles are holding up nearly 10,000 pounds of extra weight. And, so, you can just imagine when a tree falls and they have that extra weight, what it does to the power systems.”

He added, “We haven’t lost a ton of poles, but we have got a lot of wire on the ground. A lot of tree damage, a lot of vegetation damage. A lot of people have trees on their houses. They can’t get out of their driveways, and it is system wide. We cover 2,200 miles of primary line that we have over about a 75-mile radius, and it was from one side to the other.”

While he believes most customers will get power back on within the next three days, he says it could still be another week for some of his more rural customers.

That could spell out serious danger with another round of severe cold temperatures expected this weekend for the East Coast.

“It is very, very, disheartening for me… I grew up in this community. I’ve lived here my entire life,” Hayward said. “I feel for them, they have to go through these conditions and, you know, the loss that they’re suffering, not only from not having power, but the damage that they’ve had on their homes and things.”

For Oxford residents like Jerrica Pryor, a teacher at a local middle school, relief can’t come soon enough. With no power and no running water, she has been living off snack food, and spending time in her car to warm up periodically.

She uses a small space heater sparingly to warm up at night.

“It has been difficult,” Pryor said. “Lots of blankets, lots and lots of blankets.”

With tears in her eyes, she said she was most worried about her students and how they’re faring in the dark and cold.

“I do miss them, I just hope they’re well,” she said. “It hurts a little bit, because they are on a different side, and I’m able to stay warm, and I just hope they are as well.”

Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill said the city is doing everything possible to restore basic services to residents. She likened the storm to something more like a tornado.

Due to a water pressure issue, the city had to turn off water supplies to several neighborhoods to ensure the city’s hospital had enough water to care for patients. Tannehill believes the water pressure issue may have been caused by burst pipes that froze during the storm, or by heightened water demands from so many residents dripping pipes to prevent them from freezing and breaking.

Lafayette County Emergency Management has set up several new ready-to-eat meal and water distribution sites for residents in dire straights. The National Guard arrived in Oxford on Wednesday to help deliver those supplies to people in need.

Lafayette County, which includes the city of Oxford, has set a distribution limit of three days’ worth of supplies per person “to help ensure supplies reach as many residents as possible,” Lafayette County spokesperson Bo Moore said.

As of Thursday evening, Moore said nearly half of Lafayette County was still without power.

Moore also told CBS News the county is using the National Guard’s helicopter for medical transports to Memphis, Tennessee, because the roads are still too hazardous for ambulances to drive through safely.

“It’s going to be a long road to recovery,” Tannehill responded when asked when things may get back to normal. “It’s hard to even get our minds to that right now when we still have people without power and without water.”

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Thousands of people relocate to North Carolina each year, with many new residents leaving colder climates in search of snow-free living, only for last winter to remind them that snow shovels are still necessary.

Victoria Suda, who relocated from Michigan to the Triangle, was surprised by snow and ice last week.

“I had people from, like, Germany and like California and like Ohio message me and asked me what I was going to do,” she said. “And so I was like, this must be a national story. So, I was a little more nervous.”

Suda noted that ice accumulation was the most concerning, but this weekend’s winter weather is bringing more snow and less ice.

“I have enough food in the house, and I don’t think I’m going to probably worry as much or stress,” Suda continued.

Lori Gottberg, a long-time North Carolina resident, recalls her first winters in the Triangle after moving from New England.

SEE ALSO: Gov. Stein declares state of emergency in NC as another winter storm closes in on the Triangle

“(I) spent most of the first half of my life in New England with a lot of snow, and I liked the first winter when we moved down here like this is great, you know, we could wear shorts,” she said.

This winter, however, there are no shorts in sight. She is dressed in warm coats and sweaters.

“I still think everybody needs to be careful,” Gottberg said.

And those aren’t the only notes the former northerners shared.

“If you’re nervous overnight about pipes freezing, just like try to run the water a little bit, like just keep the faucet on,” said Suda.

Wise words from the snowbirds who flew south but not far enough to avoid the frigid temps.

“Just be mindful of it. There’s still ice out there,” said Gottberg.

SEE ALSO: Restaurants preparing for second weekend in a row of winter weather