Ralston College Announces Landmark Grant from The Marcus Foundation

Bernie Marcus’s life embodied the American values that Ralston seeks to instil. Born to immigrant parents in a Newark tenement, he built a retail empire from scratch through sheer grit, innovation, and an unshakeable belief in free enterprise as the engine of human progress. His Foundation extends this ethos into philanthropy, supporting institutions such as Ralston that resist the erosion of independent thought—through hyperconformity, censorship, or AI—while championing the freedoms that make human flourishing possible.

 

As a private institution dedicated to the unyielding pursuit of truth and the cultivation of independent thought, Ralston is profoundly grateful for The Marcus Foundation’s leadership, resolve, and confidence in our mission. Their support ensures that Ralston will remain a fortress for free inquiry, where students become not mere passive consumers of knowledge but curious and courageous custodians of the ideas and ideals that matter most.

 

This gift recognizes that the renewal of our civilization depends not only upon scientific innovation, economic vitality, and strong communities, but also upon the formation of free and thriving human beings. As well as supporting the College’s core intellectual activity and public-facing initiatives, the Foundation’s gift will allow Ralston to continue offering full and partial student scholarships: our unwavering commitment is to admitting the most exceptional students, so that, regardless of their financial circumstances, they can participate in our uniquely rigorous humanities program.

 

Ralston's President Dr Stephen Blackwood says: “The Marcus Foundation's investment signals a growing awareness of the need for bold intervention if our country is to have a future. As any glance at history will demonstrate, civilizational renewal has always depended upon patrons who understand that nothing determines the enduring success of a society more than the human values it upholds, and the education that transmits them. In partnering with us, The Marcus Foundation helps secure a future where education, informed and inspired by the riches of Western civilization, can reclaim its central role as the bedrock of a resilient, free republic.”