Here is this week’s news of grants and gifts that may be of particular interest to women in higher education.
The College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences at West Virginia University received a grant from the National Collegiate Athletic Association for research designed to promote a healthy body image among women collegiate athletes. The research is under the direction of Dana K. Voelker, an assistant professor in the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. She has been on the faculty at West Virginia University since 2014 after teaching at the College at Brockport of the State University of New York System. Dr. Voelker is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree in counseling and a Ph.D. in kinesiology from Michigan State University.
The University of Louisville received a $100,000 grant from the Alpha Phi Foundation for a study of archived blood samples of thousands of patients to determine whether the presence of certain lipids in the bloodstream can be used to assess the risk of a woman having a heart attack.
Meredith College, the liberal arts educational institution for women in Raleigh, North Carolina, received two gifts from alumnae of the college that will be used to fund renovations of Johnson Hall, which houses many administrative offices and admissions. Both donations are from members of the Class of 1957. A $1 million donation from Bobbitt Clay Williams and her husband will be used to renovate the executive suite on the second floor. A $3.5 million gift from the family of the late Jo Ellen Ammons will be used to create a new Welcome Center.
The Tisch School of the Arts at New York University received a grant from the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation that will support the production of television pilots by students at the school and will also provide funds for awards for films made by women that are entered into the Fusion Film Festival.