Papa John’s founder donates $1M to historically black college in Kentucky

Papa John’s founder John Schnatter is donating $1 million to a historically black college more than a year after he was fired from the pizza chain for using the N-word.

Schnatter donated the money to the Simmons College of Kentucky, the school’s president, the Rev. Kevin Cosby, tweeted Wednesday.

“John is making and will continue to make an important difference,” Cosby said in a statement, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. “His support will have a profound impact on Simmons’ capacity to serve our city, state and nation.” 

Today we announced a $1M gift and long term partnership from John Schnatter @SCKY_1879 ! After the press conference, we went straight to Louisiana to work on Dr. @ssamtolbert’s Church! pic.twitter.com/7LmSesIDst

— Kevin W Cosby (@KWCosby) September 4, 2019

“It’s been a pleasure to work with Dr. Cosby and Dr. Tolbert to learn about the important work they are doing in our community,” Schnatter said in a statement, according to the Courier-Journal. “I’m proud to support their efforts to help lift up those who want to better their own lives and the lives of those around them.”{mosads}

Simmons, located in Louisville, is the only private historically black college and university (HBCU) in the state of Kentucky. The other HCBU in Kentucky is Kentucky State University.{mosads}

The news comes after Schnatter resigned as the chairman of Louisville-based Papa John’s in July 2018 after it was reported that he used the N-word during a conference call while taking part in an exercise on handling public relations. He reportedly used the N-word after being asked how he would distance himself from racist groups.