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Grant Highlights

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation provided $866,000 to institutionalize undergraduate research and faculty collaboration across the College’s five global studies areas of European Studies, Russian/Post-Soviet Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Africana Studies, and Latin American Studies. The funding contains support for three postdoctoral humanities fellows in these disciplines. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has contributed over $4.3 million to William & Mary since 1978.

In summer 2012, William & Mary’s Center for Gifted Education will host Camp Launch, a new initiative bringing together rising 7^th and 8^th grade high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds for a two-week residential education experience. Students will take courses in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, writing, and personal development. Camp Launch is made possible by a $250,000 grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. The summer program will create peer support networks for students, and help orient them toward a college education.

The College will celebrate the launch of the William & Mary Confucius Institute in April 2012. The Office of Chinese Language Council International of the People’s Republic of China (Hanban) and Beijing Normal University (BNU) are collaborating with the College to offer Chinese language and culture classes for William & Mary and the local community. The Institute will provide K-12 teacher training and support study abroad initiatives. Hanban has pledged $1.15 million over five years to support the Institute.

This year the College received a $140,000 grant from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation for scholarships benefitting talented female students at William & Mary. Scholarship recipients come from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Since 1987, The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation has contributed over $1.9 million to William & Mary for financial aid.

The Norfolk Southern Foundation has recently provided grants to the Marshall-Wythe School of Law and Virginia Institute of Marine Science. These funds will aid in the creation of graduate student fellowships, endowed faculty professorships, and the purchase of new scientific instrumentation. Norfolk Southern has contributed over $2.3 million to the College since 1981.

In response to a challenge grant from the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation to raise $900,000 for the Brafferton Renewal and Renovation Project, William & Mary received over $1.1 million in individual contributions. With the Parsons Foundation’s $300,000 grant and a $1 million grant from the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation, William & Mary is over halfway toward its $4.5 million goal for the Brafferton. The second-oldest building on the College’s historic campus, the Brafferton was built in 1723 as a school for Native American boys, a valued legacy.