How Do We Address Disparities in Education?
TRAVELERS SUPPORTS DIVERSITY INITIATIVES
With two major gifts, Travelers Connecticut Foundation, the charitable arm of Travelers, is enhancing academic, outreach and diversity programs at UConn.
Education Access Initiative
Travelers committed $275,000 for the Education Access Initiative to improve access to higher education for underserved populations and build awareness about careers in insurance and finance.
“Research shows that first-generation and non-traditional college students are much more likely to achieve success if they have access to a broad range of supportive programs,” says Marlene Ibsen, president of the Travelers Foundation. “Travelers and UConn are structuring a comprehensive approach that we believe is a formula for success for underserved students.”
The initiative supports a wide range of efforts.
- A new leadership scholarship will be given to students who demonstrate a commitment to multicultural diversity. Travelers also will offer recipients mentorship, internships and summer work.
- Significant funding for the School of Business will support the Multicultural Business Club, faculty mentoring and outreach to high schools in predominantly minority areas.
- Funding supports the Science, Engineering and Health Professions Collaborative Symposium for minority students considering careers in those fields and the National Middle School Science Bowl, which is co-sponsored in the Northeast by UConn’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
“This gift is a source of support for a number of things that are critical to our mission, including expanding access and equity for underrepresented students in the state through a variety of activities designed to enhance recruitment, retention and the success of these students,” says Ronald Taylor, vice provost for multicultural and international affairs.
Project M3 Enrichment Math Club
Travelers also committed $150,000 to expand UConn’s Project M3: Mentoring Mathematical Minds by creating the Project M3 Enrichment Math Club for underserved students in Hartford.
Project M3, developed by the Neag Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at the Neag School of Education, was kicked off in 2002 with a $3-million federal grant to develop math curricula for talented students in grades three through five, provide professional development for teachers and implement field tests in schools.
The curriculum, which is now being used in 42 states and several other countries, targets children with high potential who are often bored by traditional curricula. Results have shown strong quantitative and qualitative evidence of student achievement, according to Katherine Gavin, program director and associate professor at the Neag Center. That success attracted Travelers to fund the implementation of the research findings in a new year-long, after-school enrichment program in Hartford.
“Travelers has a special interest in fostering mathematics skills in young people because they’re skills that directly relate to our business. These students are our future workforce, and we will look to them to keep Hartford a thriving community for insurance and financial services,” says Ibsen.
