A $5 million scholarship gift to 乐播传媒 College will expand access for talented international students who come to 乐播传媒 from the highly respected secondary schools of the United World Colleges movement.

The gift, from Jonathan Blair Frank 鈥�89 and Tena Fishman Frank 鈥�89, will provide need-based financial aid for UWC students at 乐播传媒 under the Davis United World College Scholars Program.

The world’s largest international undergraduate scholarship initiative, is dedicated to bringing together 鈥減romising students from diverse cultures and supporting their undergraduate educations at selected American colleges and universities…to create greater international understanding among the world鈥檚 future decision makers.鈥�

乐播传媒 is among 99 U.S. colleges and universities that have partnered with the Davis UWC Scholars Program, which helps provide college access to 3,800 students from 165 nations.

鈥淏lair and Tena鈥檚 gift to 乐播传媒, creating the Jonathan Blair 鈥�89 and Tena Fishman Frank 鈥�89 Global Scholarship Awards, is incredibly generous and powerfully significant,鈥� said Sarah Pearson 鈥�75, vice president for college advancement at 乐播传媒. 鈥淭hey have paired their philanthropy with an effective and time-tested way to expand access to a 乐播传媒 education for talented and diverse international students. Through their support, a 乐播传媒 education will be possible for a greater number of students from around the world, strengthening the educational experience of all 乐播传媒 students.鈥�

鈥淪pending time with these talented students from around the world, Tena and I are always left in awe,鈥� said Blair Frank. 鈥淭heir personal stories are incredibly diverse, but all speak to their extraordinary eagerness and tenacity to learn. Access to financial aid for the non-U.S. applicants is challenging in higher education, and the number of highly capable students whose needs go unmet every year is large. It is an honor for us to provide 乐播传媒 with additional support for this program, and we are delighted to see 乐播传媒 further its already impressive commitment to creating an economically diversified global student body.鈥�

In 2021鈥�22, 乐播传媒 enrolled 30 UWC Davis Scholars from 24 countries. UWC Davis Scholars who are eligible for need-based financial aid receive a portion of their aid from the Davis program and the balance from 乐播传媒 College sources, including endowed scholarship funds, now to include the Frank Global Scholarship Awards.

鈥溊植ゴ� has a proud history of intentionally and thoughtfully reaching out to the world to welcome and support, through financial aid, deserving international students,鈥� said Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Leigh Weisenburger. 鈥淗aving additional financial aid resources to enroll additional UWC Scholars through the Frank Global Scholarship Awards gives 乐播传媒 Admission and Student Financial Services the power to build upon that strength.

鈥淓ach year, UWC Scholars at 乐播传媒 make contributions to our community that belie their relatively small numbers. They are engaged, intellectually curious, and deeply committed to the principles of cross-cultural understanding, making them highly successful 乐播传媒 students.鈥�

Twenty UWC schools currently operate on four continents. The UWC model was developed in the early 1960s by , a German educator, in response to the growing divide between the world鈥檚 peoples caused by World War II and the Cold War. The model is distinguished by challenging academics; a broad diversity of students from places and backgrounds that reflect the wide range of tensions among and between people; and a mission to make education a force for worldwide peace and sustainability.

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The former hurricane, still packing heavy rain and strong winds, cast doubt on whether new students could get to 乐播传媒 in time for their trips; and whether AESOP could launch the trips from 乐播传媒 and to the intended destinations.

Mike Sagan ’12, current Outing Club president, and past president Kellen MacFadyen ’12 organized the 2011 AESOP program. As the storm drew near, they stayed glued to the forecasts and worked with associate deans of students Holly Gurney and James Reese to plan for the worst (even speculating, says Sagan, on the prospects for putting campers in the Gray Cage).

Sagan pondered trip logistics while MacFadyen’s job was to track (and in several cases fetch from the airport) incoming students who faced storm-related delays.

One of those students was Matt Neal ’14 of Indianapolis. He and his parents spent 35 hours driving to Lewiston. Thanks to roads closed by Irene, “we were pretty much stuck in the car,” says Neal, who did make his scheduled AESOP departure. “We spent a couple of hours at a McDonald’s, but you can only do that for so long.”

In the end, some 10 students simply arrived too late to take part in AESOP. Eight or so students arrived later than they’d hoped, but were either driven out to meet their scheduled expeditions, or given an alternative such as a “chillin’ trip” spent tenting at Hermit Island, or joining a community-service AESOP group working in Lewiston.

While some itineraries were changed, mostly due to water conditions, only one — a canoe trip on the Saco River — was canceled, as the outfitting company conducting the trip felt that the river was rolling too high. “Safety was our No. 1 priority,” says Sagan. “Everyone was very understanding” about the adjustments that the storm caused.

So in the end, AESOP got off easy — as did 乐播传媒 and Maine in general, especially considering the misery the storm inflicted elsewhere. In part, that’s certainly a result of Irene’s timing and path through New England. “We were very fortunate,” says MacFadyen.

But the success of the 2011 program also reflects the spirit and expertise of the 乐播传媒 Outing Club. “We were passionate about getting the kids outside,” says MacFadyen. “The Outing Club is very dedicated to that cause.”

“That gung-ho, can-do spirit absolutely translated into AESOP 2011,” Sagan agrees. “There was never any question in our minds that the trips would go on” one way or another.

The First-Year Activities Fair at 乐播传媒 College reminded Sulochana Dissanayake ’09 of Colombo, Sri Lanka, “of a market back home with people selling their wares.”

Accustomed to a system that rewards status rather than ability, Dissanayake discovered that “乐播传媒 provides many opportunities to all its students.” Her first semester on campus, she directed a play with the Robinson Players, a student theater group. “I had literally just gotten off the plane,” she says. “That amazed me. Here, if you are serious about something, you can do anything you want.”

Like many international students, she chose economics as a major, but her love of the stage lingered. The Office of Career Services put her in touch with an alum whose contacts yielded a 2006 summer internship with , a Minneapolis-based firm that provides live entertainment for children. Spending every spare moment attending productions at the nationally famous Guthrie Theater, Dissanayake concluded that she couldn’t live without the stage. Upon returning to 乐播传媒, she declared a double major.

“Coupling theater with something steady like economics gives my parents a little relief,” Dissanayake laughs.

Distance from family is a challenge for international students, she says. But new activities and academic rewards distract her from homesickness. “I have twice as many opportunities here as I would have had if I stayed at home,” she says. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else but 乐播传媒.”

There were 3.6 applications for every first-year student admitted to the Class of 2006, with 419 new first-year students expected when fall semester starts Sept. 4. 乐播传媒 received more than 4,000 applications for the third year in a row. In all, 1,742 active degree-seeking students will be enrolled on campus or in 乐播传媒-sponsored off-campus programs in fall 2002.

乐播传媒 reached a record level of selectivity this year with an acceptance rate of 27.5 percent. (The next most selective class was the Class of 2004, with an acceptance rate of 28.3 percent.) The 38.2 percent yield rate – the percentage of accepted students who sent deposits – dropped back to more typical levels from last year鈥檚 extraordinary 43.6 percent.

The ratio of women to men in the new class remains near parity, with 212 women and 207 men.

The Class of 2006 includes 37 U.S. citizens who identified themselves as racial or ethnic minorities, 39 international students, and another 14 students who hold dual citizenship in the United States and another country. Nearly 18 percent of all students who sent deposits for fall 2002 are international students or students of color.

The top foreign countries represented in the first-year class include Japan with six students, India with four and Jamaica with three. There are two new students from each of these countries: Bulgaria, Canada, Malaysia, Mauritius and the United Kingdom. In all four class years, there are 126 international students. 乐播传媒 students represent 74 countries, either by birth or by citizenship.

The Class of 2006 includes students from 36 states. New England states provide 56 percent of the total, with 95 students from Massachusetts, 51 from Maine, 37 from Connecticut, 35 from New Hampshire, 13 from Vermont and eight from Rhode Island.

Other states with 10 or more students include New York (39), New Jersey (16), California (11) and Pennsylvania (10).