Since the start of this fiscal year, the Lincoln community has benefitted from an unwavering commitment to three areas critical to the University’s mission: faculty development, co-curricular opportunities and need-based scholarships. The Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations has focused time and energy on attracting resources that will encourage scholarly enrichment both inside and outside of the classroom, as well as eliminate the financial barriers that deter students with limited means from attaining a Lincoln degree.
One of this year’s highlights was the receipt of a $500,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Thanks to a proposal written by President Brenda A. Allen, this three-year grant will “reinvigorate excitement about the arts and humanities on our campus.” Arts and humanities faculty will be able to dedicate time to: research and academic writing for scholarly publications, enhance existing and develop new curriculums, revise majors and infuse courses with more active learning approaches.
Two new undergraduate research opportunities were created through grants from for-profit companies. PECO Energy provided $25,000 to support a campus-based research project titled, “Campus Tree Inventory and Identification Project (Phase I).” Led by Provost Patricia Ramsey, the principal investigator, five students will inventory the trees on Lincoln’s 422-acre campus during the coming summer. The six-week project will provide student researchers with valuable handson experience, weekly stipends and complimentary trips to local arboretums for additional enrichment.
The AmerisourceBergen Foundation provided a one-year, $100,000 grant to allow undergrads from various disciplines to help tackle the opioid epidemic in Philadelphia. Through a project titled, “Increasing Awareness of the Opioid Crisis in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area through an Academic and Community Partnership.”
In addition, over three years the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation pledged $37,500 to the Brenda A. Allen Need-Based Scholarship Fund. To help ensure more Lincoln students reach commencement, the fund closes the funding gap that exists between the cost of attendance and the financial aid that graduating seniors have secured. At Lincoln, during the 2016-17 academic year roughly 94 percent of full-time undergraduate students required financial assistance—and of those, just 6 percent of them received enough to fully meet their needs. Not surprisingly, students from families of the lowest income levels are more likely to leave college without a degree.
We thank these four donors, and many others like them, for believing in the potential of the University and our students, faculty and staff to change the world.
Get Other Businesses and Foundations Involved
Do you know of a business or foundation that may be interested in partnering with Lincoln University? Contact the Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations to learn how to fund University programs and take advantage of sponsorship opportunities.
