Latest news with #ScholarshipEndowment
Forbes
02-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Major Naming Gifts To George Mason, Creighton, University Of San Diego
George Mason University has received a $20 million donation for its School of Computing. In the past 10 days, three institutions — George Mason University, Creighton University and the University of San Diego — have received multi-million-dollar donations for various initiatives. George Mason University was given $20 million by the Kimmy Duong Foundation. Because a portion of that gift will be eligible for matching funds from the Tech Talent Investment Program –a Virginia initiative that aims to increase the number of graduates with computing degrees — its total impact could reach as high as $36 million. In recognition of the gift, George Mason's Board of Visitors voted to rename its School of Computing the Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong School of Computing. The funds will be used to create three endowments. Two will support scholarships and student success initiatives within the George Mason's College of Engineering. The third will provide scholarships through the Long Nguyen and Kimmy Dong Scholarship Endowment with preference given to students majoring in nursing, education, or journalism. "Kimmy Duong and Long Nguyen have been good friends to George Mason, recognizing the opportunity our university provides for students to succeed,' said George Mason University President Gregory Washington, in the university's announcement. 'Kimmy came to this country with very little and climbed her way to success, not unlike how many of our students who—whether they are first generation or come from difficult socioeconomic circumstances—overcome their own challenges. George Mason has been a leader in computing for many years, and this transformational gift will help ensure that remains the case for many more years to come," added Washington. Duong was born in Vietnam, where she earned her BS in economics and law from the University of Saigon in 1966. She joined IBM in 1968, and worked there until she fled the country in 1975 to came to the United States. In 1994, she joined Pragmatics, where she served as vice chairwoman and CFO, overseeing it finance, legal, facilities management, and human resources departments. In 2015, she established the Kimmy Duong Foundation, which supports a range of health, education, and welfare initiatives in the United States and Vietnam. Kimmy Duong and her husband, Long Nguyen, gave $5 million to George Mason in 2009 for the Nguyen Engineering Building. Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska announced on April 22 that it had received a $10 million bequest from alumnus Elno Zikmund and his wife, Tillie. In its announcement, Creighton described the gift as one of the largest for 'unrestricted' scholarships, meaning that they are not limited to a particular field or income level. The couple created the Elno T. and Mathilda M. Zikmund Endowed Scholarship at Creighton in 2010. Elno Zikmund was a physician in Central City, Nebraksa. 'With the wide-ranging support of the Zikmund Scholarship, students from many different fields are taking Creighton's values into their communities, as Dr. Zikmund did,' said The Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, president of Creighton University, in a news release. 'I am truly grateful for the Zikmund family's gift and for everything it will mean for our students and the places they serve.' On May 1, the University of San Diego announced that it had been given $10 million by Dan and Phyllis Epstein, through their Epstein Family Foundation. The gift will be used to support the new Epstein Family Foundation Military-Connected Center for Excellence. In addition, the gift is being framed as a challenge to raise another $10 million in matching donations for the Center. The center is dedicated to USD students with military connections, including active-duty personnel and veterans, as well as spouses and dependent children. 'Our family is honored to support this important initiative, ensuring that military-connected students have the resources they need and deserve,' said Dan Epstein. 'We invite the community to join us in this effort to create pathways of opportunity for those dedicated to lives of service and leadership. Together, we can make a meaningful difference for students today and for future generations.' Dan Epstein is the Executive Chairman and Founder of the ConAm Group, which is headquartered in San Diego. ConAm is one of the leading privately owned apartment management/ownership firms in the country, operating about 50,000 apartments throughout the United States. In addition to contributing to several other philanthropic causes, the Epsteins are long-time supporters of the university, making donations for many of its programs, including military-connected students, real estate students and faculty and the Real Estate Awareness and Diversity Initiative program. 'We are deeply grateful to the Epstein Family for their generous support in advancing USD's commitment to our military-connected students,' said University of San Diego President James T. Harris III, in the announcement. 'Their leadership in this initiative will create lasting opportunities for service members, veterans, and their families, strengthening our campus and community."
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
USAID cuts could be ‘death sentence' for Afghan women studying abroad
A group of more than 80 Afghan women who fled the Taliban regime to study in Oman say they are at risk of imminent deportation to Afghanistan after their U.S.-funded scholarship was canceled as part of the Trump administration's cuts to foreign aid. The female students received an email on Feb. 28 informing them that the scholarship program administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development at the Middle East College of Oman had been terminated along with thousands of other foreign aid initiatives, according to the email obtained by NBC News. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The plight of the Afghan students was first reported by the BBC. In a letter to aid groups, the Afghan women are appealing for urgent help to allow them to continue their studies abroad and avoid returning to a country where, they say, they will face certain persecution and life-threatening risks. 'The situation is catastrophic,' the letter says. 'Being sent back to Afghanistan would mean the permanent loss of our education and exposure to severe risks, including oppression, insecurity, and a future without opportunities. This is a life-or-death situation for many of us.' The Afghan students were pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in Oman under the Women's Scholarship Endowment, one of numerous programs eliminated in the Trump administration's effort to drastically scale back USAID. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that 83% of USAID programs had been canceled after a six-week review and that the remaining programs would be merged into the State Department. 'Please don't let our dreams be shattered and the Taliban decide our fate,' the students' letter reads. 'We have fought very hard to get out of their hands, we won't be living anymore if we have to go back to Afghanistan.' The program for female scholars was launched in 2019 with a $50 million endowment from USAID, according to Brian Le, deputy legislative director of With Honor, a nonprofit group that works with veterans in Congress from both parties on bipartisan initiatives. Interest from the endowment has covered the cost of the program, which was administered by USAID, without requiring additional annual funding from the U.S. government, Le said. Nonprofit groups are in discussions with the government of Oman to try to resolve the situation, he said. 'What we're trying to avoid is their return to Afghanistan, which would functionally amount to a death sentence for these women who have been aided by the United States in pursuing higher education opportunities,' Le said. While the letter from the Afghan students said 83 women were affected, Le said it now appears more than 120 Afghans had their scholarship funding cut off. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Afghanistan, they have reimposed draconian restrictions on women, including banning them from secondary school and higher education, prohibiting them from most employment and limiting their freedom of speech and movement, according to human rights groups. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., said the elimination of the scholarship program was 'shameful' and called on the Trump administration to reverse course. 'The Trump administration thinks it's politically advantageous to villainize USAID, but Americans need to realize that behind the cancelled contracts and mass layoffs are innocent lives now put at risk,' he said in an email. 'In this case, these bright young women with the world ahead of them could receive what could amount to a death sentence in a matter of days — simply because they were relying on a US-funded scholarship to get their education abroad.' This article was originally published on
