Philanthropy's impact on teaching, research addressed at Benjamin ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Society gathering
• Click on the thumbnails below to view images from the Leaders in Philanthropy event (photos by Lorenzo Ciniglio):
President Hansen thanks her panelists at the conclusion of the Leaders in Philanthropy program.
As Steve Kates '83 looks on, Rebecca Sommer makes a point. "Research, teaching and student learning are integrated" at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, she says. "That's rare, and it really distinguishes ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½."
From left, Alison Bernstein P'90, Steve Kates '83, Rebecca Sommer and Jamie Merisotis '86 discuss the intersection of philanthropy and the mission of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.
Lauren Okano '11 (left) and Danielle Scher '11 review a new publication celebrating the arts at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.
Dan Mills, director of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art, comments on the Asia Society exhibition "Nobody's Fool," the first major New York exhibition by the Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara.
Reflecting on her participation in the recent Leaders in Philanthropy program in New York City, Associate Professor of Biology explained the rarity of her professional situation.
“”What I am most proud of as a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ professor,” she says, “is that I can conduct significant research daily, teach daily, and involve students all the time. Research, teaching and student learning are integrated. That’s rare, and it really distinguishes ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.”
The dinner program, held at the in September, offered ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ top donors a chance to hear about the intersection of philanthropy, teaching and research, and the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ mission. It was sponsored by the Benjamin ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Society, the College’s recognition program for donors who have given $1 million or more to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ in their lifetimes.
Featured guests also included R&D head Steve Kates ’83, recently featured in ; Spelman College professor and ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Trustee P’09, a former Ford Foundation vice president; and Lumina Foundation head , also a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Trustee.
In terms of teaching, the close interaction that characterizes teaching at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, Sommer says, “makes all the difference, in terms of taking students from not knowing how even to approach a question on their own, to taking a problem on and solving it.”
Sommer also recalls how her fellow panelist, Steve Kates, impressed upon the audience that he begins with ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ when he talks publicly about his professional path. Sommer explains that “the norm in the scientific community is to start with your graduate program, as if that’s where your life as a scientist started. But Steve starts with ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. That makes it clear that you only get into the best graduate programs if you have a great undergraduate program.”
The Leaders in Philanthropy program also featured a visit to thethe first major New York exhibition by the Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara, as Dan Mills, , offered comments on the installation.
