U. gets $1.7 mil. donation

Minority permanence at the University got a $1 million shot in the arm last week. An anonymous gift of $1.7 million to the University will help fund community outreach and endow fellowships for minority graduate students at the University. The largest portion of the gift, worth $1.17 million, will endow the University's Fontaine Fellowships, which provide funding for outstanding minority students pursing doctoral degrees. The remaining $600,000 will be used to fund several educational community outreach programs at the University. Fontaine Fellowships helped fund 28 students last year. Interim President Claire Fagin said last week's gift represents a first step in permanently endowing the fellowships, which have been funded on an annual basis up to now. "I think the fellowships have tremendous potential, so we're using the money where we can get some lasting gain," Fagin said. Originally, the anonymous donor did not specify any goals for the money, but Fagin said she had worked closely with the donor to reach the University's goals for minority permanence. At the end of last year, funding goals for minority permanence were nearly $30 million short of the stated $36 million goal in the Campaign for Penn fundraising effort. Fagin said she began her presidency with three main financial goals in mind -- to increase the number of endowed chairs, to finance undergraduate education and to focus on minority permanence. "With this gift, we're devoting our resources totally to the minority permanence goal," Fagin said. Fagin said she is embarking on an unprecedented trip today to meet minority parents and alumni, to "hear from them" on such issues as the W.E.B. DuBois College House and the Commission on Strengthening the Community's preliminary report. "We want to get these parents and alumni involved with our students and the University as a whole," Fagin said. Today is the first of a scheduled five-day trip that will take Fagin to Washington D.C., Raleigh, N.C., Atlanta and San Juan. One program slotted to receive funding is the "Early Alert" program, co-sponsored by the University and Lincoln University. Early Alert co-Director and Associate Physics Professor Larry Gladney said Early Alert takes chemistry and physics into the classrooms of local public schools. It provides University faculty and students as mentors for city students interested or talented in math and science. Another portion of the gift will provided funding for minority undergraduate students conducting research in math and science. Gladney said 14 students received money to help defray the cost of their research last year. "Hopefully this year we can meet the demand," he added. "But it's not so much the dollar amount, but the affirmation by the University that this is a worthwhile thing to do."