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.

St. Catherine University, a women-focused educational institution in St. Paul, Minnesota, received a $1.5 donation from alumna from Jirik Mullen and her husband to support restoration efforts for the Our Lady of Victory Chapel on campus. The gift is a major step forward toward the university’s goal to restore and update Our Lady of Victory Chapel, which opened in 1924. Mullen is chief compliance officer and associate general counsel for Ecolab Inc.

Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, received a $750,000 gift from trustee Erica Penn and her husband, Kevin to establish the Penn Family Scholarship Fund. Recognizing the value of encouraging and assisting women who are pursuing science-centered careers, the Penns have ensured their $750,000 gift will “provide support for education in the sciences with a preference for supporting female undergraduate and/or graduate students.”

Kent State University in Ohio received a $100,000 grant from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation to support the university’s Spirit of Motherhood Program, which screens and treats PTSD and chronic stress among Black expectant mothers with the goal of reducing symptoms that impact the health of mothers and babies. The grant will allow the program to recruit more interventionists, enabling them to bring into the program up to 20 additional mothers and up to 40 of their preschool children. The program is under the direction of Angela Neal-Barnett, a professor in the department of psychological sciences.

The College of Health Sciences at the University of Kentucky received a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense for research on how to prevent injuries during training and improve warfighter performance in female Marines. The three-year study is entitled “Musculoskeletal health considerations to improve resiliency and lethality in female Marines.” Musculoskeletal injuries are conditions involving bones, muscles, ligaments, nerves, or tendons that frequently result in activity limitations and restricted ability to participate in military occupational and unit requirements.