Denzel Washington donates $2.25m to university

Denzel Washington has donated $2m (£1.3m) to his alma mater Fordham University.

The donation will be used to establish the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre. Cosby Show actress Phylicia Rashād will head the programme.

Washington also gave an additional $250,000 (£162,242) to fund scholarships for theatre students.

The Training Day actor graduated from Fordham University in 1977 with degrees in drama and journalism.

Washington said of his donation: "Show me a successful individual, and I'll show you someone who has had positive influences in his or her life. The late Bob Stone, my mentor, was a former actor and professor at Fordham University. Bob was one of those influences in my life. He believed in me and gave me something to live up to.

"I wanted to create the Denzel Washington Endowed Scholarship and Chair in Theatre at Fordham in order to offer the next generation of students positive influences. Phylicia Rashad, as the inaugural holder of the chair, will provide the care, compassion and that extra push to help take students where they're meant to go."

In May, Washington received an honorary doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.

Washington is reportedly being considered for the lead role in a remake of the foreign thriller The Secret in Their Eyes.

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Watch Denzel Washington in the Training Day trailer: