“This is really extraordinary because with our pattern of giving, we are very Michigan dependent, and this is really a shot in the arm for the institution,” MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said.

The remaining $3 million will be used for general university operations.

Simon said the $7 million for scholarships and financial aid will help balance the financial aid budget. MSU gave almost $470 million in financial aid during the 2007-08 year. Data for 2008-09 is not yet available.

The donation almost eclipses the average of about $13 million given annually for financial aid by private donors.

“Most of the scholarship contracts that we see are less than $100,000,” said Val Meyers, associate director of the Office of Financial Aid. “Most folks donate and start an endowment with considerably less money.”

Universities typically know the identity of anonymous donors but do not release their names. In this case, university officials do not know the donor’s identity.

The record donation could be part of a nationwide mystery involving about a dozen universities that have received an estimated $68.5 million. None of the universities know the source of the donation. MSU’s $10 million donation appears to be the largest of the gifts from anonymous donors.

Two additional Big Ten schools, Purdue University and the University of Iowa, received $8 million and $7 million, respectively.

One common thread found among the schools is that all are led by women.

According to the American Council on Education, 23 percent of universities had female presidents in 2006, the most recent year with such data. Using that data, the odds of a donor randomly giving money to a dozen schools with female presidents is more than 1 in 45 million.

The delivery of the donation also has followed a common pattern — an intermediary calls university officials and tells them of an incoming donation, sometimes asking for the university to not pursue the identity of the donor.

At Kalamazoo College, the only other Michigan university to announce receiving a similar anonymous donation to date, a call came in to university officials in late March. In early April, the college received a $1 million check. An attached note requested the college use the funds for scholarships for women and minorities.

At Purdue University, the donor asked that $6 million would go to financial aid and scholarships, with the remaining $2 million helping the university’s general fund. Purdue spokeswoman Jeanne Norberg said the West Lafayette, Ind., university typically receives three to five anonymous donations per year.

“This is the first one that we have received that is anonymous to us that we’re aware of,” Norberg said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.