Frank Baker, an African-American and founder of Siris Capital in New York, has paid off the debt for nearly 50 students graduating from Spelman College, the all-women historically black college in Atlanta.

Baker spent $250,000 to cover the tuition balances of about 50 women so they could graduate this year.

“The people who my heart really goes out to are women in their senior year who can’t afford it anymore and have to drop out.

These are the women we need in the workforce,” Baker said.

Baker and his wife, Laura Day Baker, an interior designer and philanthropist announced a $1 million gift toward the establishment of a scholarship for Spelman College graduates.