Women’s Giving Circle Celebrates Milestone

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L-R: Becky Brink, circle president; LePaine McHenry, funding recipient; Chancellor Gearhart

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Women’s Giving Circle began changing lives in 2002, and since its creation by the founding members of the Women and Philanthropy Committee of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, more than 40 programs have received more than $500,000 from the collective effort of the circle’s members.

This year, in its 9^th year of awarding funding to deserving initiatives led by University of Arkansas faculty, staff and students, the chancellor announced that a match of up to $50,000 will double the impact of the Women’s Giving Circle as it enters its 10^th year of awarding funding. Every membership dollar will be matched up to that amount, and the impact on the University of Arkansas campus and the community will be doubled.

The purpose of the Women’s Giving Circle is to create a substantial pool of new money from women in support of the University of Arkansas while, at the same time, encouraging women as philanthropic leaders.

“When the Women’s Giving Circle was created, it was the introduction of a new way for women to collaborate and change lives,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “Since 2002, the breadth of programs that have been funded wholly or in-part by the circle has directly impacted student safety, access to higher education, medical research, community projects, health and wellness … the list is endless. The founding members created a process that really works, and I am very proud of what the circle’s members have accomplished. I hope the $50,000 contribution from the university only enhances what they’re able to do in the future.”

A total of $40,000 was awarded to the following three programs, chosen during an annual online vote and voting event that includes all Women’s Giving Circle members. The awards were presented at an event held Tuesday, Oct. 4.

A grant of $15,000 will establish the Women’s Giving Circle Endowed Scholarship in Nursing, proposed by LePaine McHenry, assistant director of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing in the College of Education and Health Professions. The money will be matched with funds from the scholarship match initiative, resulting in a $30,000 endowment. Over the next three years, the enrollment of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is expected to double, so the opportunity to assist deserving students with financial support will grow. Already, some 62 percent of nursing students who apply for privately funded scholarships are denied due to lack of scholarships. By the year 2020, the Department of Labor estimates a shortage of 1 million nurses in the United States. The Women’s Giving Circle Endowed Scholarship in Nursing will help make a career in nursing a more feasible goal for more students.

David Zaharoff, holder of the Twenty-First Century Professorship in Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering and director of the Laboratory of Vaccine and Immunotherapy Delivery, was awarded $15,000 to support research studies aimed at reducing the incidence of breast cancer metastasis and dramatically increasing survival. Metastasis is responsible for more than 90 percent of all breast cancer related deaths in American women, which total approximately 40,000 per year, and standard treatment options are effective against primary tumors but are incapable of controlling breast cancer metastasis. Zaharoff and his team have developed a novel immunotherapy based on direct tumor injection that activates the immune system and destroy tumor cells. The Women’s Giving Circle funding will allow the researchers to conduct additional experiments and to expand upon their theory and strategy.

The final program to receive funding this year is the Women’s Giving Circle Legal Fellows program at the University of Arkansas School of Law. The program, led by Susan Schell, director of career services for the law school, was awarded $10,000. The Legal Fellows program will allow law students to assist in an upcoming two-year initiative to develop and implement a new, holistic model of domestic violence advocacy concentrated on decreasing the number of victims who return to abusive situations out of economic dependence. Selected students will help create and distribute educational materials that explain legal issues relevant to the financial barriers faced by domestic violence survivors. Then, students will work with licensed attorneys to break those barriers through legal representation. Ultimately, the research and materials developed through this initiative will be shared throughout the Arkansas legal and domestic violence service provider communities.

The founding members of the Women’s Giving Circle in 2002 were Pat Cooper, Mary Trimble Maier (B.A. 1949), Julia Peck Mobley (B.S.E. 1965), Harriett Phillips (B.A. 1972), Debbie Walker, Lynne Walton (B.A. 1970), Mary Lib White and Donna Axum Whitworth (B.A. 1966, M.A. 1969).