Tara Attanasio ’26 outside the Brooklyn MuseumBy Kendra Pintor
Scripps College is home to many endowed funds that make a lasting difference in students’ academic journeys, each reflecting a deep commitment to learning, inquiry, and opportunity. Among them is the Lori Bettison-Varga Endowment Fund for Student Thesis and Research Support, which provides sustained resources for a student undertaking a significant research project. Tara Attanasio ’26, a senior majoring in art history with a minor in economics, is the most recent Scripps student to benefit from the fund’s assistance.
The Endowment
An endowment is a fund that is set aside to provide long-term financial stability. In this case, the endowment honors former Scripps President Lori Bettison-Varga, who served on the Board of Trustees from 2009 to 2015 and whose tenure was marked by a deep commitment to undergraduate research. Gifts and pledges totaling more than $125,000 have been made to the fund since its establishment, ensuring meaningful and lasting support for students pursuing significant scholarly work.
Student Thesis and Research
For her senior thesis, Attanasio is examining the work of Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1889–1953), a Japanese American modernist artist active in New York City during the early to mid-20th century. Her research focuses on Kuniyoshi’s still-life paintings following 1941 and the ways in which historical and political forces shaped his artistic practice.
“I’m exploring how the US government’s intervention in Yasuo Kuniyoshi’s life—his arrest, interrogation, and forced identification as an ‘enemy alien’ after Pearl Harbor—impacted his stylistic and conceptual choices,” says Attanasio.
Her interest in Kuniyoshi began well before college. While taking a studio art course in high school, Attanasio researched Asian American artists to inform a painting centered on her own upbringing and the rise of anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic. That experience proved formative.
“Learning about Kuniyoshi completely shaped my decision to pursue art history at Scripps,” says Attanasio. “Receiving support from the Lori Bettison-Varga Endowment Fund has made a meaningful difference in how I approach my senior thesis and has allowed me to dedicate more time to my research and to think more deeply and creatively about my project.
“It’s encouraging, knowing that Scripps is invested in students’ academic exploration and growth.”
The funding also enabled Attanasio to enroll in a senior seminar through Pomona College and to pursue field research, an opportunity she says was critical to her work.
“Learning how to apply for funding and navigate that process was invaluable to me as far as preparing for arts careers that rely on grants and fellowships,” says Attanasio. “Having secured funding from the beginning of the semester made it possible to change my research plans as my project evolved.”
The ‘Full’ Scripps Experience
With support from the endowment, Attanasio traveled to New York City for seven days of archival research at major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Art Students League, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While at the Met, she accessed curatorial files related to Kuniyoshi’s work and met with museum staff about Kuniyoshi.
Encouragement from curators and archivists throughout the trip reinforced the broader significance of her research. Attanasio noted that many emphasized the growing movement within American art history to recover and reexamine the work of underrepresented artists, including Asian American modernists like Kuniyoshi.
“Through Scripps’s resources, what once felt like a daunting task became an incredibly fun and inspiring project,” says Attanasio. “This experience has inspired me to seriously consider pursuing a master’s degree and a career in the arts.”
Bettison-Varga’s commitment to undergraduate research helps Scripps fund up to 24 senior thesis or capstone projects each year, with the potential to assist even more students as the fund continues to grow. Through this enduring investment, students like Attanasio are empowered to pursue rigorous, independent research that reflects the depth, creativity, and ambition of a Scripps education.
To make a gift in support of the Lori Bettison-Varga Endowment Fund for Student Thesis and Research Support, please call the Scripps philanthropy team at 909.621.8638, or, to give to scholarships click here.