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.

The Women and Gender Resource Center at the University of Alabama has received a $179,000 grant to establish a crisis hotline for victims of domestic and sexual violence to anonymously call and talk to someone from the center. According to the center’s executive director Dr. Ellie Shaaban-Magna, the money will pay for five staff positions and allow them to maintain a 24-hour crisis line.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has announced that 38 colleges and universities across the state will split a $1 million grant to help set up programs aimed at combating sexual assault on college campuses. The project, “It’s On Us PA,” works alongside the national It’s On Us program and will help increase awareness of reporting policies and training for students, faculty, and staff.

SUNY Ulster has received a $1.5 million grant from the NoVo Foundation to launch New Start for Women, a program beginning in fall 2019 to assist women in Ulster County who are living in poverty to obtain an education, skills, and to access a professional network needed for gainful employment. Participants in the program will enroll in one of three certificate programs at the university; general management, administrative office skills, or entrepreneurship. In addition to providing tuition and fees, the program will provide academic and personal support, career support and mentorship, and community-building to help students achieve their goals. They will also receive a laptop, home-based internet access, childcare, transportation, tutoring, counseling, networking events, a dedicated space at the Kinston Center of SUNY Ulster, study groups and family events.

Judith Hardes has contributed $500,000 to Pennsylvania State University to create The Judith Hardes Fund in the College of Liberal Arts. Her gift will provide scholarships for students in the department of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. Some funds may be used for learning opportunities for experiential learning opportunities such as research, conferences, and lectures.

The Davis Museum at Wellesley College, the high-ranking liberal arts institution for women in Massachusetts, has been awarded a grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to support the upcoming solo exhibition of work by multimedia artist Fatimah Tuggar. The funds will be used for the critical components of the exhibition, including a catalogue with scholarly essays and the commission of a new exhibition-specific artwork, Deep Blue Wells, which will incorporate the developing medium of augmented reality.