In recent months the College has received a number of grants from foundations, including two challenge grants:
The Fred Emerson Foundation, of Auburn, N.Y., awarded the College a $500,000 challenge grant to support the Union-Schenectady Initiative, a broad-based plan to revitalize the neighborhood to the immediate west of campus. The gift will support the purchase, renovation, and furnishing of one building; network communications wiring; and creation of an endowment to be used for wiring upgrade and maintenance. The College needs to raise $1.5 million by November 2001 to satisfy the challenge.
The Kresge Foundation of Michigan made a $500,000 Kresge Science Initiative grant for science and engineering equipment and for the establishment of an endowment to maintain, upgrade, and replace equipment. The grant includes a challenge to raise $1 million by December 2000, for a total equipment endowment of $1.25 million. Equipment to be acquired includes an open circuit wind tunnel, fog generator, and processor for use in civil and mechanical engineering programs; fluorescent and inverted microscopes for biology; and six computer-based oscilloscopes for electrical engineering.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, of New York City, made a $400,000 grant (jointly with Hobart and William Smith Colleges) to support a cooperative international studies program. The grant will be administered over a four-year period and will support fifteen to twenty collaborative, off-campus programs. The two colleges also will develop two new programs. The International Cultural Assistance program will enlist students from both colleges who have international study experience to serve as mentors to other students; the program also will set up orientation and “reentry” programs. The Student International Initiatives Fund will provide support for students to develop projects that will build upon their international experiences; initiatives might include a joint student association or collaborative research projects. The grant also will fund the development of technologies to support interactive broadcast instruction between the two colleges (e.g., instruction in program languages not otherwise offered on either campus).
The Sherman Fairchild Foundation of Maryland made a $500,000 grant over five years for introductory and first-level science course laboratory equipment. The College will replace, upgrade, and add equipment in its four laboratory-based science departments — biology, chemistry, geology, and physics.
The Henry Luce Foundation, of New York City, awarded the College $271,104 in support of the East Asian Studies program. The grant will support a new tenure-line position in Chinese language, literature, and culture. Funds also will help expand the activities of Thurston House, a residence for students who have an interest in East Asian studies, and will support the development of Asia-based modules for existing courses such as music, classics, and art history.