Media Relations
Press Release :
MEDIA CONTACT: Polly Burks
561-297-2595, pburks@fau.edu
FAU’s Peace Studies
Program Receives $600,000 Gift
BOCA RATON, FL (December 21, 2010) – Florida Atlantic University held a dinner at The Eleanor R. Baldwin House with close to 90 people in attendance to celebrate a $600,000 donation recently made to FAU’s peace studies program. President Mary Jane Saunders announced that the gift was given by three Boca Raton families to establish the Lynn, Wold and Schmidt Peace Studies Endowment, the first permanent endowment for FAU’s peace studies program. The gift is eligible for matching by the State of Florida University Major Gifts Program and the FAU Clearwire matching gift program, making the total value of the endowment $1.44 million.
The gift was made by the E.M. Lynn Foundation, represented by Christine Lynn; the Bay Branch Foundation, represented by Elaine Wold; and the Schmidt Family Foundation, represented by Dick and Barbara Schmidt. The purpose of the gift was to establish an endowed fund to support educational and community outreach activities in the peace studies program within the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters.
“Over the last decade, our distinguished faculty associated with peace studies have built a high quality academic program with a focus on global peace and personal transformation,” said Manjunath Pendakur, dean of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. “The community outreach program, in collaboration with the Schmidt Family Foundation, has brought such apostles of peace as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet and Dr. Jane Goodall to Boca Raton. This generous gift from three families will help us immensely to continue such great work to serve the cause of peace, FAU students and the community at large."
The endowment will provide scholarships and fellowships to students pursuing academic studies in the peace program at FAU; fund distinguished speakers and events that enhance peace and understanding for the benefit of students and the wider community at large; and support community enrichment activities including workshops, seminars and cultural activities related to peace.
“It is an honor to be able to share my passion for bringing peace to the world one life at a time,” said Barbara Schmidt. “Collaborating with our friends Christine and Elaine, the Lynn, Wold and Schmidt families are pleased to give this endowment to FAU. The scholarships, fellowships and community programs that this endowment supports will touch lives for generations to come, helping South Florida become the change we all wish to see in the world.”
For more information about FAU’s peace studies program, visit www.fau.edu/ peacestudies or call 561-297-2623.
- FAU -
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University opened its doors in 1964 as
the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University
serves more than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students on
seven campuses and sites. Building on its rich tradition as a
teaching university, with a world-class faculty, FAU hosts 10
colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters,
the College of Business, the College for Design and Social
Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of
Engineering & Computer Science, the Graduate College, the
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt
College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing
and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. For more
information, visit
www.fau.edu
