GREENSBORO, N.C. – Tickets to a fundraiser for Bennett College featuring Oprah Winfrey sold fast in the first day of public sale.
The private school for black women sold all 300 tickets available Monday, bringing in more than $100,000 for the Oct. 20 event. Corporate sponsors can still purchase blocks of seats for between $25,000 and $100,000, officials said.
The gala is part of college President Johnnetta Cole's plans to leave office with the school on a firm financial footing. Bennett is in the midst of a $50 million fundraising campaign co-chaired by Angelou and former Sen. Bob Dole.
Bennett College was running a $2 million budget deficit and was on academic probation when Cole, the former president of Atlanta's Spelman College, took over in 2002.
Cole will retire from the school's presidency in June.
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