HAMMOND - Officials at Southeastern Louisiana University say it's the largest single donation in the Hammond-based institution's 92-year history: a $10 million bequest from a 1953 graduate.

Southeastern says in a Tuesday news release that Seth Ryan was a 1953 business graduate who died last month. He left a significant portion of his estate to the Southeastern Foundation in the name of his wife, Thelma Ryan.

The university says Ryan's bequest will become part of the Southeastern Louisiana University Foundation Scholarship Endowment.

The university vice president for advancement, Wendy Lauderdale, said the donation bolsters one of Southeastern's strategic initiatives - to increase the number of women enrolled in science, technology, engineering and math programs.