Two incoming Marist students have been selected to receive the newly established Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI) Scholarship at Marist College.
Two incoming Marist students have been selected to receive the newly established Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI) Scholarship at Marist College. The scholarship is awarded to students from GLI’s vast national network of affiliated schools who demonstrate exceptional achievement in the study of history.This unique and impactful collaboration between Marist College and GLI was cultivated and primarily funded by a family with longstanding commitments to both institutions. Trustee Genine McCormick ’88 and her husband, Michael ’88, made a very generous pledge to help establish this scholarship initiative in collaboration with GLI. About the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American HistoryFounded in 1994 by noted philanthropists Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, GLI is widely recognized as one of the leading institutions in America dedicated to the promotion of knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources. The institute has an archive of more than 75,000 historical documents and provides educators, students, and the public with direct access to these unique primary resources. GLI also has an impressive network of more than 29,000 affiliated high schools around the country, and their programming reaches nearly five million students each year. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is supported through the generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations.The McCormick Family Foundation – Gilder Lehrman Institute Scholarship Program will be the cornerstone of an exciting partnership developing between Marist and GLI. The McCormicks’ support, combined with that of other donors, will provide meaningful term scholarships for 12 deserving students recognized as top high school history students by GLI’s recently launched National Academy of American History and Civics (NAAHC); NAAHC represents GLI’s highest-achieving, most accomplished students. Eight scholarships will be reserved for students with significant financial need, and the remaining four scholarships will be awarded exclusively based on academic merit. While recognized for their achievement in the study of history, scholarship recipients will not be required to major in history at Marist. The McCormicks’ gift also includes a generous allocation to establish a special society to more formally connect scholarship recipients through meetings, programming in conjunction with GLI and Marist, and an annual dinner. The society will add another important dimension to this distinctive program. Michael and Genine have had an immeasurable impact at Marist through their exceptional philanthropy and thoughtful leadership over many years. This signature program is yet another example of their dedication to students and unwavering commitment to advancing the College’s mission. Impressive Inaugural RecipientsThe inaugural recipients hail from New York and have impressive academic and extracurricular achievements:• Elisabet Guerrero Hernandez, from Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, NY, completed a research project with the Museum of Natural History and served as an intern at Fordham University’s History Makers program. Guerrero Hernandez is secretary of the Women’s Alliance Club and a member of her high school’s bowling varsity team. She is very interested in a career in adolescence education and aspires to be a history teacher.• Harumi Kameda, from Hyde Leadership Charter School, NY, is second in her class and is looking to find her niche at Marist. Kameda is the co-captain of her high school debate team, member of the National Honor Society, involved in Environmental Club, and plays saxophone in the pep band. She hopes to study pre-law and has an interest in history and environmental science.Through this partnership, Marist GLI scholars will make trips to the GLI office in New York City to access GLI’s extensive archives and participate in special programming and internship opportunities. For students with financial need, the scholarship will grow during their time at Marist, providing for increases in award amounts to eliminate the impact of annual tuition increases as well as matching funds for the money they earn through part-time employment.GLI students also will have the opportunity to participate in Marist’s highly ranked Summer Pre-College Program, which is also available to all students at GLI partner schools around the country. In addition, GLI students can take advantage of other special events and activities both on and off campus and avail themselves of the rich historic resources of the Hudson River Valley.A Strategic PartnershipThe collaboration with GLI is a complement to Marist’s deep work in the field of history. The College’s Hudson River Valley Institute studies and interprets regional history, hosts lectures every semester, and publishes a peer-reviewed journal, the Hudson River Valley Review. Numerous students intern with HRVI each year, learning valuable research skills.The College’s partnership with the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum makes it one of only six colleges and universities nationwide affiliated with a presidential library. Marist also hosts the Library’s digital archives.Among the first to join the McCormicks in generously supporting the scholarship initiative are Kimberly ’02 and Frank ’00 Viggiano, Jill ’02 and Mark ’00 Viggiano, Lisa and Scott Sweeney ’04, and Marist Trustee Pat Lavelle ’73. Eight scholarships remain to be sponsored in the program.Realizing the vision for this exciting new initiative will require the support of other generous Marist donors, and alumni, parents, and friends are invited to consider sponsoring and naming individual term scholarships offered within this innovative pilot. To learn more about this special opportunity, please contact Chris DelGiorno, vice president for college advancement, at chris.delgiorno@marist.edu or by phone at (845) 575-3412.
Generosity and community have always been at the heart of Marist’s identity. This legacy, which has endured for nearly a century, has recently gained extraordinary momentum as alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students, and friends of the College have stepped forward with unprecedented enthusiasm to provide philanthropic support for various elements of Marist’s mission and vision.
Marist is at an inflection point in its evolution, with philanthropy acting as a powerful accelerator.
Although Marist is a relatively young institution – with more than 60% of its 51,000 alumni having graduated in the last 25 years – the collective force of its community coming together to enhance the educational experience of current and future students has tremendous impact. Nowhere is this more evident than Marist’s inaugural Day of Giving, covered in greater detail in this issue of Marist Magazine. On this day, generations of alumni participated in record numbers, giving back to ensure that future Red Foxes benefit from similar life-changing academic, professional, and recreational opportunities.
While their individual motivations for giving are unique, donors are united by a belief in Marist’s promise, and a desire to invest in its future.
Also in this issue are several recent gifts and pledges supporting impactful programs, scholarships, or initiatives that advance one or more pillars of Marist 100: Academic Vibrancy, Student Centrality, and Expansive Community.
In each case, donors have been inspired by the College’s ambitious vision of improving the world through education and have stepped forward to fund an element of that vision that resonates with them.
Whether supporting scholarships designed to make a Marist education more affordable, promoting equity and access across the academic experience, assisting students in developing financial-literacy skills, naming space in a premier academic building, or helping to develop signature recreational facilities, each gift is a vote of confidence in Marist, and an investment in its future.
Generous gift from longtime Marist supporter W. Jason Hancock
A generous $1 million gift from longtime Marist supporter W. Jason Hancock will enable a wide range of financial literacy initiatives to equip students with important skills to help them become savvy money managers and build brighter financial futures.
Q&A - Marist Magazine chats with Kevin and Beth Weinman about the Fund for Equity
In April, Kevin and Beth Weinman announced a second gift pledge to the Presidential Fund for Equity in the Marist Experience (the “Equity Fund”). This $500,000 pledge augments the founding gift of $250,000 they made in December 2021. Since then, over 300 students with demonstrated financial need have received grants allowing them to enroll in “travel courses” or take unpaid internships vital for career preparation. The Weinmans’ gifts, alongside hundreds of others from Marist trustees, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends, as well as future gifts to the Fund will help ensure support remains available to Marist students.
Q: What inspires you to give to Marist?
K & B: Everyone in the Marist community – students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents – has inspired us from our very first day. We believe deeply in this College – its achievements to date, and its promise for the future. Gifts to Marist have tremendous impact on the student experience. Marist has long been an institution on the rise – a College worth supporting – and the ambitious vision outlined in Marist 100 charts a path to even greater heights. We are honored to be here and to join so many others in providing financial support to help Marist reach its fullest potential.
Q: Why the Equity Fund?
K: Because I’ve seen that the Equity Fund works! Students often tell me how enriching and rewarding their internships are in their career preparation. Also, I recently returned from drop-ins to three travel courses, one in Athens and two in London, and was blown away by the rich learning environment. Student and faculty enthusiasm was off the charts!
Also, the Equity Fund hits upon all three pillars of Marist 100. Travel courses and internships speak to “academic vibrancy” by giving students immersive learning opportunities and faculty the opportunity to design innovative curricula, to “student centrality” by directing 100% of these resources to support an outstanding student experience, and to “expansive community,” both by bringing Marist to the world and the world to Marist and by attracting immensely talented faculty and students from all backgrounds to the Marist community.
Spring 2024 Attachment Course: Shakespeare in London
B: As someone who was fortunate to travel extensively throughout the former Soviet Union and Europe before and during college, I find Marist’s travel courses, which provide life-changing experiential learning opportunities, intriguing. These experiences opened my eyes to people and cultures beyond our own. I also know from our son Alex’s experience that some students prefer a short immersive international visit rather than semester or year-long study abroad, and these courses allow several hundred Marist students to do just that, every year.
Spring 2024 Attachment Course: Democracy in Greece
Q: What would you say to others who are considering their own forms of support to Marist?
K & B: As they consider a gift to Marist, we encourage alumni, parents, and friends to think about what inspires them most about a Marist education and what would bring them the most satisfaction from a supporting gift. For us, it’s the Equity Fund, and, of course, we invite others to support the Equity Fund as well. But we understand others might prefer to support any number of other Marist 100 priorities. In any instance, a gift of any size makes a difference. It shows confidence in Marist and its mission and makes a huge difference for our students. We invite everyone to consider joining us in supporting Marist College, in ways and at amounts meaningful to them.
Support the Presidential Equity Fund by making your gift today!
