Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer and St. Paul native Chad Smith announced on Saturday that he’s donating $160,000 to the University of Minnesota to fund scholarships for aspiring musicians.

Smith’s foundation funded the new scholarships meant to help musicians from underserved and underrepresented communities attend the university’s School of Music. The scholarship is named after the drummer’s parents — Curtis and Joan Smith. Both are University of Minnesota alumni.

During a visit to the university, Smith said music programs in his school were key for him. And he hopes his foundation can do more to get instruments into students’ hands and get additional resources to school and community music programs over time.

“I’m fortunate that I’m in a band that people like, or some people like enough

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