Here is this week’s news of grants and gifts that may be of particular interest to women in higher education.
A team of scientists at Michigan State University have received a $3.7 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to examine the understudied period of perimenopause and its impact women’s mental health. The project is one of the first of its kind to investigate how hormonal changes during midlife might influence psychosis and other mental health outcomes.
J. F. Drake State Community and Technical College in Huntsville, Alabama recently received a $500,000 gift to establish the Ellenae Fairhurst Endowed Scholarship fund. Named for the pioneering automotive executive and entrepreneur Ellenae Hart-Fairhust, the endowment will provide a permanent source of financial support for Drake Students, with a particular focus on assisting mothers who are pursuing their education full- or part-time.
Tufts University in Boston has received a $4 million gift from Jeff and Linda Moslow to launch the Tufts Women’s Health and Menopause Initiative. The funding will support two endowed professorships – one in the School of Medicine and one in the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy – whose holders will co-direct the initiative. The program aims to advance clinical care, education, and research in novels way that improve women’s health across the lifespan.