The Alumnae of Northwestern: Supporting Academic Enrichment
Nine Weinberg College professors receive grants to pursue excellence in the classroom — and beyond
By Rebecca Lindell
The Alumnae of Northwestern University are on a mission.
Their goal: academic enrichment, not only for faculty and students but also for the community at large.
Every year, the organization engages Northwestern faculty to teach 10-week continuing education classes on subjects that range from religion to history to media to Shakespeare. Geared to community members, the noncredit classes attract more than 1,000 participants each year.
The funds raised by the class fees go right back to the University in the form of grants that support faculty research and ultimately the academic experiences of students across Northwestern.
The Alumnae includes about 60 members, all of whom are female graduates of Northwestern. Founded in 1896, the group has generated more than $8 million for the University during its century of fundraising.
“We’re very proud of the work we do,” says Michele Bresler ’63, president of The Alumnae of Northwestern University. “We’re very happy to give back to our alma mater and to share the University’s resources with the broader community.”
Supporting initiatives across the University
The funds are distributed in a variety of ways, across the University’s many schools and programs. Last year, for example, Nick Davis, an associate professor of English and gender and sexuality studies, received a three-year Alumnae Teaching Professorship Award for excellence in teaching and curriculum innovation. The Alumnae have also funded undergraduate scholarships and grants that allow students to gain valuable work experience through unpaid internships. They also fund fellowships, building renovations, scholarships and other initiatives.
This year, the Alumnae received 42 applications for grants and distributed $120,000 to 20 faculty members at Northwestern University. Nine went to Weinberg College faculty to pursue a variety of goals: new research, support for graduate students, writing workshops, conferences, equipment and the development of new curricula.
This year’s College’s grant recipients (and their projects) include:
- Gary Alan Fine, the James E. Johnson Professor of Sociology, to conduct research on senior activism and the culture of resistance.
- Beth Redbird, an assistant professor of sociology, to purchase data that would help students with their master’s theses, student projects and dissertation research.
- Deborah Cohen, the Peter B. Ritzma Professor of the Humanities and a professor of history, to bring writer author Deborah Baker to Northwestern in the fall of 2018 in conjunction with the Kaplan Institute for the Humanities’ Artist-in-Residence Program. Baker will hold writing workshops with faculty and graduate students and will meet one-on-one with members of the Northwestern community.
- Jennifer Nash, associate professor, African-American studies and gender and sexuality studies, to support a one-day conference celebrating Patricia Williams’ Alchemy of Race and Rights, which features an array of preeminent scholars who work in disciplines ranging from sociology to art history and history to anthropology.
- Ken A. Paller, professor of psychology, to investigate whether individuals who remember nearly everything have a special way to use their sleep to strengthen their memory storage.
- Julia Kalow, assistant professor of chemistry, to support the 2018 Chicago Organic Symposium, which brings together local organic chemists from academia, industry, and national labs for a one-day symposium on current research in the greater Chicago area.
- Elad Harel, assistant professor of chemistry, to pursue spectroscopic studies of retinal proteins.
- Brad Sageman, professor of Earth and planetary sciences, to develop innovative new curricula in the field of environmental geophysics.
- Danna E. Freedman, assistant professor of chemistry, to build a state-of-the-art micromanipulation stage within an air-free glovebox, in order to prepare high-pressure experiments in a rigorously dioxygen-free environment.
The Alumnae of Northwestern will celebrate the 50th year of its Continuing Education program beginning in the fall quarter of 2018. Learn more about The Alumnae of Northwestern here.
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