Here is this week’s news of grants and gifts that may be of particular interest to women in higher education.
Bryn Mawr College, a women’s liberal arts educational institution in Pennsylvania, received a $10 million bequest from the late Frances K. Conley. A neurosurgeon, author, and advocate for gender equity in medicine, Dr. Conley began her undergraduate studies at Bryn Mawr before transferring to Stanford University in California. At Stanford, she was the first woman to serve as a surgical resident and the first woman to gain tenure as a full professor of neurosurgery. In 1991, Dr. Conley drew national attention when she resigned from Stanford in protest of discriminatory treatment toward women surgeons. She ultimately withdrew her resignation and chronicled her experiences in her memoir, Walking Out on the Boys (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1998).
Hollins University, a women’s undergraduate and co-ed graduate institution in Roanoke, Virginia, received two gifts from alumna Jane Parke Batten. The first gift will establish the Global Leaders Exchange program with Lakeland University-Japan and Virginia Wesleyan University. Initially, the exchange program will focus on education in sustainable development, English as a second language, and international business. Batten’s second donation establishes an endowment for an environmental public health pathway within the public health major. The funds will support a new faculty position, paid internships, global partnerships, and rural learning opportunities.
The School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham received funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Maternal and Child Health Bureau to establish a Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Education, just one of 13 centers of its kind in the United States. The new initiative aims to prepare the next generation of leaders to improve health outcomes for mothers, children, and families. Graduate students pursuing a master of public health degree, doctor of public health degree, or a specialized certificate in maternal-child health policy and leadership will benefit from formal education, research, and professional development opportunities at the center.