Scripps College is the recipient of two monetary awards-one from the private estate of alumna Dorothy Cruickshank Backstrand, class of 1932, and one from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation–which are to be applied specifically to the Gender and Women’s Studies Program at the all-women’s college. Funds from the Backstrand Estate will establish the first-ever endowed chair in gender and women’s studies, while the two-year $250,000 Mellon Grant will be used to significantly bolster the existing academic program through subsidizing such opportunities as research projects, conferences, and a scholar/practitioner-in-residence program.
“These awards have come to Scripps at a particularly crucial time,” said President Nancy Y. Bekavac. “We have long recognized our need to lead The Claremont Colleges in the area of gender and women’s studies, and we will now able to meet the demands of a rapidly growing department. These gifts help establish the leadership necessary to strengthen and expand our existing curriculum.
“Scripps’ mission is to deliver the best possible education,” Bekavac continued. “And now, with Ms. Backstrand’s personal generosity and the Mellon Foundation’s visionary endorsement, we will be able to adequately address a field that has grown radically in the last century-and one that is of vital importance to a women’s college.”
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation encouraged Scripps College to apply for a grant, due in large part to Bekavac’s leadership over the last 12 years, and specifically recommended the proposal be made to address an area Bekavac identified as a priority initiative. The resulting $250,000 grant will not only support the college’s strategic objectives in the area of gender and women’s studies but will advance Scripps as a national leader in the field of women’s higher education. The directives outlined in the award include monetary provision for the creation of key programs, such as establishing a scholar-in-residence, supporting and promoting collaborative student-faculty research opportunities, and fortifying Scripps’ relationship with peer institutions through improved channels of communication and scholarly exchange.
“In essence,” Bekavac noted, “This Mellon Grant will enable Scripps to converse with and learn from those sister colleges that currently operate successful women’s studies programs. With that research, we will be able to create a unique program that combines the best possible elements with an eye toward how the discipline will evolve over the next several years. And we strongly believe that Scripps’ ability to address both present and future needs in this area will ensure our position as a leader in the field of women’s education.”
Along with the Mellon Grant directives, the creation of the chair is expected to impact significantly the existing gender and women’s studies program as well as raise the profile of the Intercollegiate Women’s Studies Program at The Claremont Colleges, of which Scripps is the lead college. Over the next several months a faculty committee will create a detailed description of the new chair’s responsibilities. The formal search for a suitable candidate will begin soon thereafter.
Although she did not complete her undergraduate program at Scripps-she received her bachelor’s degree from Chouinard School of Art-Riverside resident Dorothy Cruickshank Backstrand ’32 retained close ties to the women’s college in Claremont. Kept in trust until her death and the death of her husband, her unrestricted bequest was then passed on to Scripps, where the Scripps Board of Trustees was able to direct the sum total into a priority need. Any funds from the Backstrand estate determined surplus to the needs of the chaired professor in gender and women’s studies will be directed to the Scripps College scholarship program in Mrs. Backstrand’s name.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation makes grants in higher education, museums and art conservation, performing arts, population, conservation and the environment, and public affairs. Institutions and programs receiving support from the Mellon Foundation are often leaders in fields of Foundation activity, but may also be promising newcomers, or in a position to demonstrate new ways of overcoming obstacles to achieving program and grantee goals. The Foundation seeks to strengthen institutions and their capacities rather than encourage them to take on ancillary activities, and it seeks to stay with programs long enough to achieve meaningful results. These considerations require thoughtful, long-term collaboration with recipients.