Student diversity grants to be announced at Fairfield University | Press Releases

After months of planning, Fairfield University will announce on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 11 a.m., the winning student teams of diversity grants intended to develop personal awareness and promote diversity within the Fairfield University community. Held in the Lower Level of the John A. Barone Campus Center, up to three grants of $1500 each will be awarded to the award-winning proposals drawn from those submitted to the Office President Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J.

Coming on the heels of an announced dramatic increase in the number of AHANA students admitted to Fairfield this fall, the Student Diversity Grant Program enlists the creativity and support of students to build a welcoming community for all individuals. AHANA students include those of Asian, African, Hispanic and Native American heritage. This year's freshman class has double the number of AHANA students from the previous year.

Initiated by Dr. Betsy Gardner, professor of psychology, the program asked students to address:

Increasing respect and understanding on the Fairfield University campus for the contributions and lifestyles of various underrepresented racial, cultural, and economic groups in our society and;

Maintaining, enhancing, or establishing multicultural, gender-fair, disability-sensitive, inclusive environments that are conducive to success for students currently underrepresented at Fairfield University.

Students were told their proposals could involve academics or community life or be faith-based. Students were told that "proposals that demonstrate superior creativity and problem-solving and the promise of sustainability will be favored, as will those that show potential for success in creating, maintaining or enhancing Fairfield's environment for success for underrepresented students." Faculty mentors worked with each of the groups as they prepared their proposals.

The Student Diversity Grant Program is being sponsored by the Earl W. and Hildagunda A. Brinkman Private Charitable Foundation; Humanities Institute of the College of Arts and Sciences; Fairfield University Student Association; Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., university president; College of Arts and Sciences; Charles F. Dolan School of Business; Center for Multicultural Relations; and Dr. Raymond P. Poincelot, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.