MNN - Mother Nature Network

Alec Baldwin's open wallet generosity continues - with the 54-year-old "30 Rock" actor announcing another $1M donation to the scholarship that bears his name at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

 

"At a time when funds for higher education appear to be more difficult than ever to access, it's my great pleasure to do what I can to bring the best possible candidates into the Tisch program, a program which I believe is the best in the country," Baldwin, a 1994 graduate of the program, said in a statement last Thursday.

 

Back in 2009, after filming a hilarious commercial for online video service Hulu, Baldwin donated the million he made to Tisch to help kickstart their Talent Identification Process (TIP); which recruits and financially supports students from around the country who might otherwise not be able to attend the school. 

 

After more companies approached him to do commercials, Baldwin continued to donate his fees to the arts - most notably in 2011 to the New York Philharmonic and Roundabout Theatre Company, giving away $1 million and $500,000 respectively.

 

"My giving something might be in the paper, but I'm not Bloomberg or the Koch family or Ronald Perelman," he told the Wall Street Journal in '11. "I'm not in that league, but I'm hoping this dialogue will bring more attention to arts coverage. There are some people in New York who can see $1 million as what 100 would mean to you. My hope is that nine other men who can do that can give a check for a million."

 

As for Tisch, Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell says Baldwin's most recent contribution will enable the arts program to compete in recruitment with the likes of athletic programs. 

 

"Alec’s generous and transformative gift enables us to think about arts recruitment in the same way as a top athletic program scouts talent, providing scholarship support to the most exciting young voices, who will in turn become the next generation of leaders in their fields. His talent and generosity are examples for all of our students."

 

And it's not just giving that Baldwin is interested in. This spring, after wrapping up "30 Rock," he will teach a drama class at Tisch. Previously, he taught summer acting classes at East Hampton's Ross School Summer Program. You can view the commencement speech he gave to NYU students in 2010 below.