College receives nearly $2 million in grants and gifts

A $247,500 grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation will fund 15 additional students taking part in student-faculty summer research projects. Here, Carmen Zazueta-Ramirez '13 (left) and biology professor Anne Bernhard study the diversity of bacteria found in local salt marshes.
A $247,500 grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation will fund 15 additional students taking part in student-faculty summer research projects. Here, Carmen Zazueta-Ramirez '13 (left) and biology professor Anne Bernhard study the diversity of bacteria found in local salt marshes.

Nearly $2 million in grants and gifts will create new opportunities for students in the sciences, further integrate foreign language and global studies into the curriculum and enhance financial aid, study abroad programs and Connecticut College’s new Academic Resource Center.

“The scope of these grants speaks to the outstanding liberal arts education that Connecticut College provides, as well as the dedication of our faculty and staff,” said Roger Brooks, dean of the faculty and the Elie Wiesel Professor of Judaic Studies. “With this funding, we will continue to provide outstanding academic opportunities to a wide range of students on campus, in the New London area and in the global community.”

The grants, awarded since December, include:

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: $700,000

The grant will support international initiatives and foster integration in global studies over the next three years. Expanded programs include Foreign Language Across the Curriculum (FLAC), which gives students the opportunity to take courses in a foreign language; World Languages Partnership with the Regional Multicultural Magnet School (RMMS) in downtown New London, providing students opportunities to teach foreign languages to elementary school students; and Foreign Language Fellows, through which advanced-level language and international students design and run co-curricular and extracurricular activities. Learn more. 

Sherman Fairchild Foundation: $247,500

The grant will fund stipends for student-faculty summer research projects in the sciences for an additional 15 science students each year for three years, beginning in summer 2014. Each award will total $5,500 to cover supplies, travel to scientific meetings to present research results, travel to and from campus, and meals. On-campus housing will also be provided. Learn more. 

Davis United World Colleges: $120,000

The funding from this grant will provide financial aid for international students. Connecticut College’s partnership with the Davis UWC Program allows students to apply for the program’s Projects for Peace grants, which fund and support college students who create and implement ideas for fostering peace. Seven College students have been awarded grants for their projects since 2009.

SJS Charitable Trust: $100,000

This grant will provide financial support in the Posse Scholars program, which recruits and trains student leaders from urban high schools. Since 2009, the College has enrolled more than 40 Posse students, who bring diverse perspectives to the campus experience within and beyond the classroom.

Other grants include: $68,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support research by Jennifer Fredricks, professor of human development and director of the Holleran Center for Community Action and Public Policy; $30,000 from the Japan Foundation to send students to Okinawa to learn about the relationship between Japan and the United States as part of a course offered by Takeshi Watanabe, professor of Japanese; $25,000 from the Academy of Korean Studies for Professor of Economics Yong Kin Park to publish a book about modern economic history and policies; $20,000 from the George Frederick Jewett Foundation East that will fund stipends for four doctoral students at the College’s Academic Resource Center to provide academic support to College students within the residence halls; $10,000 from WellPoint to support the Office of Volunteers for Community Service (OVCS) and the Connecticut College Children’s Program; $2,000 from Chubb & Son to support the onStage at Connecticut College art series; and $1,100 from Patagonia in support of Community Organizers for Sustainability Transformation.

The College also recently received two alumni gifts totaling $600,000 to support a directorship for the new Zachs Hillel House over five years, and to establish an endowed fund for programming and other uses in support of Zachs Hillel House. The director will develop and oversee programming, including religious services, lectures and traditional meals. A search is currently underway to hire the director.



February 27, 2014