University of Saskatchewan
A $2.5 million, five-year grant has gone to a researcher at the University of Saskatchewan to develop Cree Helping Cree, a culturally appropriate and community-driven crime-prevention program for tribal youth. Conflict resolution will be a principal focus of the program. usask.ca
A $20 million gift to Johns Hopkins University will fund the new Ralph S. O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute, which will serve as a campus hub for interdisciplinary research in the field of green and renewable energy. jhu.edu
IBM’s Global University Programs has funded the teaching of advanced technology skills at Miami Dade College with a grant of more than $10 million, much of it in the form of lectures from IBM Academic Ambassadors in fields like cybersecurity and quantum computing. mdc.edu
The new $75 million chemistry and biochemistry facility at Old Dominion University was officially opened in April. The building includes 24 research labs and a 122-seat planetarium that doubles as a lecture hall and houses an advanced laser system. odu.edu
A $20 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies will expand opportunities for underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation students at Princeton University. The funds establish the Emma Bloomberg Center for Access and Opportunity at the Ivy League school, which has had a no-loan policy since 2001. princeton.edu
The School of Nursing at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, has received a $150,000 gift to create an endowment for Indigenous nursing students. The funds will support initiatives like mentoring and resident elders as well as financial aid awards earmarked for students who accept a placement in an Indigenous community. tru.ca
The School of Information Studies at Syracuse University is adding two new undergraduate majors: applied data analytics and innovation, and society and technology. They join the current program offered by the iSchool, information management and technology. syracuse.edu
A new multidisciplinary building is being planned for Cornell University thanks to a $30 million gift. The facility will be designed to foster innovative research in areas like sustainability, computational biology, public health, immunology, and cancer biology. cornell.edu
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year, $10 million grant to the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of North Dakota. The funds will be used to develop an Indigenous Trauma and Resilience Research Center. med.und.edu
A $25 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies will fund fellowships for graduate students pursuing careers in public service. Twenty students at the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service will receive full-tuition scholarships and other benefits starting in the 2021–2022 academic year. wagner.nyu.edu
Stanford University
The School of Medicine at Stanford and the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital have been given $80 million to support and expand access to maternal and pediatric health care and instruction in the maternal-fetal medicine program. stanford.edu
Scholarship funds endowed by the Charles Schwab Foundation will benefit underrepresented students at W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. The gift will provide financial aid and professional development opportunities. wpcarey.asu.edu
Graduate fellowships for engineering students will be funded by a $1 million gift to the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Cincinnati. The first fellowships will be awarded in the 2021–2022 academic year. uc.edu
The Board of Regents of Minnesota’s university system has approved a tuition-free track for in-state students whose family income is not more than $50,000. umn.edu
A gift from two Louisiana Tech alumni has endowed a new professorship in the school's UTeachTech program, which focuses on preparing secondary teachers in math and science. latech.edu
Washington University In St. Louis
Researchers in the Department of Biology at Washington University, with collaborators at UCLA and the Smithsonian, have received a $1.12 million NSF grant to study the evolution of Hawaiian plants. The project, which will focus on 12 understudied groups, will include conservation and educational aspects. The university has also received a gift of $8 million to go toward scholarships for undergraduates with financial need. wustl.edu
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University and the Gaylord School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Oklahoma are partnering to expand coverage of Indigenous issues, individuals, and communities. The Cronkite School is home to Indian Country Today Media, and the Gaylord School to the Native American Journalists Association. asu.edu ou.edu
Located on unceded Algonquin lands, Carleton University in Ontario is going beyond land acknowledgment to rename two prominent campus buildings as a step toward reconciliation. Located in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, the school will engage Algonquin and Inuit communities in the renaming process. carleton.ca
Donors have given Brown University $30 million to establish the Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research, dedicated to researching early detection and treatment of dementias. An additional $25 million anonymous gift to the school will fund innovative computational brain research. It will also foster research by funding an innovation awards program in computational neuroscience. Also notable is that over the past two years Brown University donors have contributed more than $20 million to support initiatives in diversity, equity, and inclusion that include faculty positions, scholarship funding, and research. brown.edu
Starting in the fall UCLA will be offering an online master’s degree in health care administration. Financial aid is available for this program. ucla.edu