Woman Scholar Leaves $650,000 to Cornell

Helen L. Wardeberg, who served as chair of the department of education at Cornell University from 1968 to 1986, died in 2011. She joined the Cornell faculty in 1954 after earning master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Minnesota and teaching at Cortland State Teachers College. She retired in 1986 after 32 years on the Cornell faculty.

In her will, she bequeathed a gift of $650,000 to Cornell. Half of the gift will be designated for scholarships for students who transfer to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The remainder of the funds will be placed in an endowment called the Helen L. Wardeberg Fund for Mann Library. The fund will be used to buy books and digital services as well to support other library services.

“It is doubly gratifying when a gift arrives from our emeriti faculty who have already given so much to the college,” says Kathryn Boor, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “To me, it speaks volumes about their dedication to the college, its mission and the critical importance of the work we do.”