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.

Bay Path University in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, received a $5 million gift from an anonymous donor to support women’s education. The gift is the largest by an individual in the university’s history. The funds will be used to support scholarships, endowed faculty chairs, science technology equipment, and development programs. Bay Path University’s on-campus undergraduate programs are available only to women.

The University of Arizona received a five-year, $3.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a new and more accurate way to diagnose breast cancer. The grant program aims to design, develop and clinically evaluate a new generation of breast-specific computerized tomography that will provide 3D images of breast tissue. Their unique patient-positioning design alleviates the need for breast compression that often is painful for patients undergoing mammograms.

The University of Louisville received a three-year, $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to support programs to increase the number of women faculty in STEM disciplines. University of Louisville President Neeli Bendapudi stated that “we must ensure that our female faculty have every opportunity to progress in their careers so they can inspire the next generation of leaders and innovators.”

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst has received a $3.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a study that will measure the impact of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables on the breast cancer risk of lactating women. Researchers will use breastmilk to assess whether eating at least eight to 10 daily servings of deeply pigmented and nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables reduces biomarkers of breast cancer risk.