Here is this week’s news of grants and gifts that may be of particular interest to women in higher education.
The Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs received a $15 million gift from the family of Ann Kaplan to establish the Ann F. Kaplan Women’s Initiative at the school’s Institute of Global Politics. Kaplan, an alumna of Columbia, was a trailblazing financial executive. One of first women to serve as a partner at Goldman Sachs, Kaplan was founder and chair of Circle Financial Group, a membership-based wealth management group specifically tailored for women. She was also the founding donor and advisory chair to the Women’s Initiative that now bears her name. The program works to advance scholarship and influence domestic and foreign policy on issues relating to women’s health, economic security, safety, human rights, and democracy.
St. Catherine University, a women’s undergraduate and co-ed graduate institution in Minnesota, received a second $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to continue the university’s Partnership for Contemplative Discipleship for another five years. First launched in 2020, the partnership brings together congregational leaders and congregants from different denominations to cultivate spiritual practices and connect through small groups.
Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., received a $100,000 gift from philanthropist Ami Becker Anderson to establish a fund to benefit the university’s women’s and gender studies program. The donation will help students conduct research and finish their capstone projects, provide compensation for part-time student research assistants, and fund faulty members’ research.