Grants or Gifts Relating to Women in Higher Education

Here is this week’s news of grants and gifts that may be of particular interest to women in higher education.

Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, received a 10-year, $1 million donation from Rita and John Canning to fund a program established in their name to help low-income women receive a higher education. Many of the women in the program are single parents and some have been victims of domestic violence. The donation is largest gift in the college’s history.

Cottey College, the liberal arts educational institution for women in Nevada, Missouri, received a $1 million gift from Thelma Serenbetz of Harrison, New York. The gift, the largest in the college’s history, will be earmarked for the Institute for Women’s Leadership, Social Responsibility and Global Awareness, which will be renamed to honor the donor. The new Serenbetz Institute will be under the direction of Carol Clyde, an assistant professor of leadership. Dr. Clyde is a graduate of Radford University in Virginia. She holds master’s degrees from The College of William and Mary and Southern Methodist University and a Ph.D. from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

The University of California at Los Angeles received a $4 million donation from alumna Marilyn Beaudry-Corbett that will establish an endowed scholarship fund in her name for students in the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. Women over the age of 30 will be given an advantage in applying for the scholarships.