Vol. 4, Issue 38
September 23, 1998
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“The future of our nation rests with the education of all
of our youth. We think it's important to support public
and private education, and also the place that trains
educators.”
— Barbara Rossier, who with her husband Roger recently pledged $20 million to the University of Southern California's School of Education; both are alumni and co-founders of the Rossier School for emotionally and developmentally disabled students. (Los Angeles Times Online 9/15/98) |
Pew Partnership Announces National Program to Share Successful City Solutions
The Pew Partnership, a research initiative funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, has announced the launch of "Wanted: Solutions for America," a new program that will empower cities nationwide with creative and effective problem-solving tools. The program is founded by a $4.8 million grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The new program will identify, codify, and disseminate proven strategies of 50 designated "Solutions" cities, which independently have cultivated workable solutions to meet critical challenges, from unemployment and crime to a shortage of affordable housing. Over the next three years, the Pew Partnership and its team of researchers, led by the University of Michigan, will track the components assembled by communities to forge their innovative solutions. Leaders of these cities then will attend national conferences to share their strategies, which will be made available to communities around the country.
"The 'Wanted' initiative is about more than awarding grants to fix a problem," said Suzanne Morse, executive director of the Pew Partnership. "It's a wake-up call. We want to tap the wealth of existing, successful community solutions, celebrate them, and maximize their impact by sharing them."
Over the next two years, the Pew Partnership will select 50 cities to participate in the program based on the importance of the identified issue to the long-term health of the community; the impact, to date, of the solution; and the inclusiveness of the approach, including the diversity of the citizens involved. In addition to accepting recommendations, the Pew Partnership will wage a national campaign next month to attract a broad spectrum of applicants. Communities of all sizes are encouraged to apply for participation.
FCnote: The Pew Charitable Trusts (PA) had assets of $4,522,480,597 and made grants totaling $211,879,597 in the year ending 12/31/97.
"Pew Partnership Charts Bold New Course for Cities." Pew Partnership Press Release 9/15/98.
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Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Receives $25 Million Gift
New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has received a $25 million gift from new board member and hedge fund investor Julian H. Robertson Jr.
According to Lincoln Center officials, the gift is the largest ever given to the center by an individual and was given in a lump sum, instead of being spread out over several years. From the $25 million gift, $10 million will be used to create the Josie Robertson Fund for Lincoln Center, in support of artistic programs presented by the center, such as "Midsummer Night Swing" and the "Live From Lincoln Center Festival" television series. The remaining $15 million will be divided among the center's 12 constituents, including the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Ballet, through an existing grant- and cost-sharing formula related to size.
"The money can be used for anything," said Beverly Sills, chairwoman of Lincoln Center. "That's what makes it so unusual."
Robertson, 66, chairman and chief executive officer of Tiger Management, the multibillion dollar investment fund, said he intended the gift as a surprise for his wife, in whose honor the Lincoln Center's fountain plaza will be renamed.
Blumenthal, Ralph. "Lincoln Center Gets Gift of $25 Million." New York Times 9/16/98, p. E1, E7.
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Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gives $91.1 Million to Undergraduate Sciences
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has announced that it will award $91.1 million in four-year grants to help 58 research and doctoral universities strengthen their undergraduate education programs in the biological sciences.
The grants, which range between $1.2 million and $2.2 million, bring to more than $425 million the amount awarded since 1988 through HHMI's undergraduate grants program, the largest private initiative in U.S. history to enhance undergraduate science education nationwide. The universities will use the grants to expand research opportunities for undergraduates, update science courses and curricula, attract new faculty in emerging fields of science, and modernize laboratories through new scientific equipment and technology. Many will also expand their science outreach programs with nearby schools and community colleges.
"The Institute's undergraduate grants program, which is now entering its second decade, is having a major impact on how biology and related disciplines are taught at the college level," said Purnell W. Choppin, president of the institute.
This is the eighth round of grants awarded since the program began in 1988, and the fourth for research and doctoral universities. The other rounds have focused on liberal arts and master's degree-granting institutions, including historically black colleges and women's colleges.
FCnote: The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (MD), a medical research organization, had assets of $12,995,368,489 and made grants totaling $87,792,336 in the fiscal year ending 8/31/97.
"Howard Hughes Medical Institute Awards $91.1 Million for Undergraduate Science Education at 58 Universities." Howard Hughes Medical Institute Press Release 9/16/98.
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Eli Broad Donates $18 Million to California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has received an $18 million donation from civic and business leader Eli Broad to create the Broad Center for the Biological Sciences, intended to help drive technological and scientific innovation and solidify southern California's role as a leader in the biotechnology industry.
"Advances in the biological sciences will have the single greatest impact on human experience in the coming century," said Broad. "I want southern California to be a leader in this critically important field, and Caltech is uniquely qualified to spearhead this remarkable new initiative."
Broad's gift is the largest donation so far in Caltech's new Biological Sciences Initiative, which aims to raise $100 million for new faculty and resources. A total of $56 million has been raised since May of 1998.
"Caltech Launches Major Bioscience Initiative With $18 Million Donation From Eli Broad." PR Newswire Online 9/15/98.
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Arnold O. Beckman Donates $14.4 Million to Science Education in California
Inventor and entrepreneur Arnold O. Beckman, 98, has donated $14.4 million to improve science education in the school districts of Orange County, California. Money will go toward teacher training, direct grants to districts, and the creation of hundreds of hands-on kits for children to perform experiments.
Under the grant program, titled Beckman@Science, individual school districts can apply for as much as $200,000 to improve the science curriculum at elementary schools. The Discovery Science Center, a children's science museum due to open in Santa Ana in December, will receive about $3 million to train the county's elementary-school teachers in science and to provide classroom materials. The third component of the gift is a series of hands-on science kits — 140 so far in 14 science subjects — that will be rotated among elementary schools for classes to conduct their own experiments.
News of Beckman's latest project won praise from national science leaders and educators. "This is a real rarity," said Cindy Workosky, spokeswoman for the National Science Teachers Association. "In the sciences, we're always looking for added support and funds to help teachers."
"Science, I think, is extremely interesting, and I want to stimulate that interest in young people," said Beckman, the founder of Beckman Instruments, who said he first became fascinated by science while reading a chemistry textbook at age 10. Through his foundation, Beckman has contributed some $300 million to the advancement of research and education.
Nguyen, Tina. "Beckman's $14.4 Million Science Project; Education: O.C. Schools Are Petri Dish for Entrepreneur's Three-Part Program." Los Angeles Times Online 9/15/98.
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1998 Lasker Awards Recognize Medical and Scientific Achievements
Six scientists whose research shed light on the genetic basis of cancer and a researcher with a broad array of achievements have won Albert Lasker Awards, the medical research awards administered by the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation.
The three scientists who were honored for basic research into the machinery that controls cell division, a process that goes out of control in cancer, are Dr. Lee Hartwell, president of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and geneticist at the University of Washington in Seattle; Dr. Yoshio Masui, professor emeritus of zoology at the University of Toronto; and Dr. Paul Nurse, director-general of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London.
Clinical research awards for studies of the genetic roots of cancer will be presented to Dr. Alfred G. Knudson Jr., former president of the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia; Dr. Peter C. Nowell, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; and Dr. Janet D. Rowley, professor of medicine, molecular genetics, and cell biology at the University of Chicago.
The Lasker Foundation's special achievement award went to Daniel E. Koshland Jr., a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, for his work on the functioning of enzymes and proteins, and on the way cells receive and respond to signals, as well as for reorganizing the Berkeley biology program and editing the journal "Science."
The Lasker Awards, established in 1945, are often called America's Nobels because 59 Lasker recipients have gone on to receive Nobel Prizes in Sweden.
FCnote: The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, Inc. (NY) is an operating foundation which had assets of $1,920,743 and made grants totaling $2,660 in the year ending 12/31/96.
"Seven Honored for Achievements in Medicine, Science." Associated Press 9/20/98.
Altman, Lawrence K. "Six Scientists Whose Discoveries Helped to Combat Cancer Are Honored." New York Times 9/20/98.
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Milken Family Foundation Honors Educators With Awards
The Milken Family Foundation has announced the 160 winners of the National Educator Award, an unrestricted $25,000 award designed to recognize educational achievements. None of the honored educators know that they are recipients until the moment their names are announced, usually in front of their classroom or school, during the foundation's National Notification Week.
"The Milken Educator Award honors those educators who are true leaders in their field," said foundation president Lowell Milken. "Their exemplary work not only benefits the children they teach, but hopefully will also encourage many of those children to consider teaching as a worthy career."
Since its inception in 1985, the Milken Educator Awards program has honored 1,170 educators in 35 states with nearly $30 million in financial awards. This year's recipients will increase the numbers to 1,330 educators in 38 states.
"National Notification Week Gets Underway in Palmetto, Florida." Milken Family Foundation Press Release 9/98.
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Milken Foundation Donates $10 Million for Jewish High School
The founders of the eight-year-old Milken Community High School of Stephen Wise Temple, the largest non-Orthodox Jewish high school in the U.S., recently dedicated its new $30 million campus in Sepulveda Pass, California. The school is named in honor of the Milken family, whose foundation paid a third of the school's cost.
The 640-student school will combine the study of ancient Jewish traditions and modern disciplines, such as robotics and biotechnology. Each classroom is wired for the Internet and has a video camera that can "video conference" with virtually any place in the world. The four science labs have fiber-optic hookups for laptops, and there are art and broadcast studios.
"No civilization exists without people, without children, without educators," said Michael Milken, co-founder of the foundation with his brother Lowell, who is the chairman and president.
Helfand, Duke. "Milken High Is Dedicated by Founders." Los Angeles Times Online 9/14/98.
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University of Southern California's School of Education Receives $20 Million
The University of Southern California's (USC's) School of Education has received a $20 million donation from Barbara and Roger Rossier, who both earned master's and doctoral degrees at the school before opening the Rossier School for emotionally and developmentally disabled students, now one of the largest special-education schools in California.
In addition to expressing their fondness for USC, Barbara Rossier said she and her husband want their gift to support the university's efforts to improve the performance of urban schools in educating the poor as well as the rich, slow learners as well as the gifted. "The future of our nation rests with the education of all of our youth," said Barbara Rossier. "We think it's important to support public and private education, and also the place that trains educators."
The Rossiers, who have already transferred $4.5 million, with the rest to come in installments, have placed no restrictions on how the school can use the money. The award will become part of the school's endowment; USC officials are considering an array of options for how the earnings will be disbursed, which include the hiring of additional professors, the provision of scholarships to help teaching aides become schoolteachers, and the establishment of a charter school.
In recognition of the couple's gift, the largest ever received by a school of education, USC is renaming the education school in their honor.
Weiss, Kenneth R. "A Lesson in Philanthropy; Gift: Tustin Couple's $20 Million Donation to USC's School of Education Is the Largest of Its Kind." Los Angeles Times Online 9/15/98.
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David and Lucile Packard Foundation Gives $1.4 Million to Arts Program in California
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has announced $1.4 million in grants for public schools in Santa Cruz County, California, to create, strengthen, or expand offerings in visual art and music.
The School Arts Program will fund 21 projects, some for entire districts, others for individual schools, in the 1998-99 school year. Most of the grants range from $15,000 to $50,000, but several were larger.
The foundation received 29 proposals requesting $5 million. It has committed $3 million over two years to the program.
FCnote: The David & Lucile Packard Foundation (CA) had assets of $7,386,414,000 and made grants totaling $102,778,997 in the year ending 12/31/96.
"$1.4 Million Awarded for Art, Music Programs." San Jose Mercury News Online 9/16/98.
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$1 Million Donation Provides Home for Emotionally Troubled Foster Children in California
With a $1 million gift from the family of Beverly Hills developer Stanley Black, Vista del Mar Child and Family Services of West Los Angeles, a nonprofit child welfare agency, has broken ground on a comprehensive residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed foster children who have failed in group homes and foster family settings.
The new $3.2 million facility will feature securable residential wings connected to classrooms, a recreation area, a medical center, and a treatment unit that will offer "intense therapeutic support" for patients ages 6 through 16.
Peter Digre, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, said there is no shortage of youngsters who might benefit from the center. "They are kids we frankly don't take very good care of," Digre said. "These few hundred tragic kids kind of float around our system. They are our most troubled kids, kids with the most hurts, the most rejection."
In the past, the only access that some children have had to mental health treatment has been through the corrections system. "That's outrageous," said David Leiderman, executive director of the Child Welfare League of America . "The fact that Vista del Mar is taking the lead out there is encouraging."
Pool, Bob. "Center to Treat Foster Children's Mental Illnesses." Los Angeles Times Online 9/18/98.
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