The Thomas R. Brown Family Foundation donated $2 million to the Arizona Assurance Scholarship Program.

“”It’s a huge mistake morally and strategically to get into a situation in which you have to be from a wealthy background to pursue degree at the UA,”” said Sarah Smallhouse, president of the Thomas R. Brown Family Foundation.

The Foundation decided that Arizona Assurance is the best option to mitigate the problems of rising tuition, she said.

Arizona Assurance is a scholarship for qualified in-state students. It gives “”students from families earning up to $42,400 per year the opportunity to graduate in four years,”” according to the UA Financial Aid Web site.

Smallhouse also said that the Thomas R. Brown Family Foundation also chose to donate to Arizona Assurance after funding for education decreased.

“”I don’t know why our legislatures don’t understand that the ramifications of what they’re doing are so devastating,”” Smallhouse said.

The Thomas R. Brown Family Foundation would like to have students from underprivileged families be able to attend the UA if they wish to do so, Smallhouse said.

“”The community is not deaf to students; we really do understand how bad this is,”” she said.

Smallhouse said that the Arizona Assurance was the best option for the Thomas R. Brown Family Foundation to support.

“”In the prioritization of things, we really have to pay close attention to Arizona’s sons and daughters because they’re not getting any help from anyone else,”” Smallhouse said when asked if the Thomas R. Brown Family Foundation would look into donating to a scholarship program applicable to out-of-state students.

The Thomas R. Brown Family Foundation has partnered with the University of Arizona Foundation, which manages gifts to the university and facilitates where donations go.

Jon Brown, director of communications for the UA Foundation, said he is not sure yet how many scholarships the donation will provide or how much each scholarship will offer students.