CANTON, N.Y. -- A silver screen icon makes a big donation to his alma mater. Kirk Douglas, a 1939 graduate of Saint Lawrence University, is giving $5 million through the Douglas Foundation.

The money will go to a scholarship fund started by Douglas and his wife Anne in 1999 to support students who have significant financial need or come from disadvantaged backgrounds. The gift creates the largest endowed scholarship at Saint Lawrence University, and expands it to freshman and sophomores.