"Sheila C. Johnson, a philanthropist and a co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, will donate $5 million to the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, sources confirmed Tuesday.

A member of the school's foundation, Johnson, who lives in Northern Virginia, will target the contribution primarily to finance clinics to help children with psychological disorders that impede learning.

"Some of those children are sitting in classrooms and the teachers have no clue what's going on with them, and they're just written off," she said in an interview Tuesday.

"If you look at my giving history, I'm very concerned how children are educated these days."

A new center, to be named after Johnson, will serve more than 7,500 children, adults and families every
year. It will include clinics that specialize in communication disorders, reading and literacy acquisition, counseling and career development, and clinical psychological services, according to the university.

David Breneman, dean of the Curry School, said the center also will provide clinical experience for Curry students and practitioners. It will be on the main floor of the school's new building, Bavaro Hall -
construction is to start next year.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and Johnson, the biggest contributor to the governor's campaign last year, will announce the gift and establishment of the center at a news conference today in Richmond.

UVa President John T. Casteen III and other school leaders will attend.

In 2000, Johnson and her former husband, Robert, sold their BET cable-television channel to Viacom for $3 billion.

The couple, who founded the channel in 1980, divorced in 2002.

She recently estimated that she has given about $21 million to various institutions.

She lives at the 200-acre Salamander Farm in Middleburg. Her daughter, a skilled equestrian and Olympic hopeful, trains there part of the year.

Johnson is also a partner in Lincoln Holdings LLC. It owns the Washington Capitals, a National Hockey League team, and the Washington Mystics, a Women's National Basketball Association team.

Johnson's proposal to build a $100 million resort and spa on 252 acres in the Virginia hunt and horse country has run into opposition from some residents and groups in Loudoun County.

Kaine said she told him about her gift a month ago. "It's significant," the governor said in an interview Tuesday.

He added that the gift underscores her commitment to education causes." (Burke Speaker, C-Ville Weekly, December 5, 2006)