Willamette Academy Awarded $75,000

The Lumina Foundation for Education has awarded Willamette Academy $75,000 to support curriculum development focused on 11 th and 12 th grade students currently enrolled in the program.

The Academy, located on the campus of Willamette University, is a supplemental education program for underrepresented and low-income students, identifies students who have the academic potential for college but for various reasons are considered at risk for dropping out.

Elaine Green, Willamette Academy executive director, said, “The Lumina Foundation gift will be used to help our students with the SAT/ACT, with writing skills, college visits and personal interviews, and will also fund financial aid workshops for parents.”

Created in 2001, the program represents a five-year commitment that involves parents and students beginning in the 7 th grade and ending with high school graduation. The annual residential summer camp and year-long weekend programs challenges students with classes in math, science and the arts. The Academy is self-supporting. Tuition is free.

The Lumina Foundation for Education is an Indianapolis-based, private foundation dedicated to expanding access and success in education beyond high school.

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Willamette Receives Grants To Establish Programs For Ethnically Diverse Students

Willamette University has received two grants totaling over $68,000 from The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) to develop two summer programs for ethnically diverse school children. A Willamette music faculty member who is studying the Alexander Technique - a method for aiding movement and performance - also received a grant from OCF.

A $60,000 grant has been given to establish the Willamette Academy, a program that will provide opportunities for up to 50 students of color in the Salem-Keizer School District to experience a college environment. This academic program will be coordinated by a full-time director and is expected to begin in the summer of 2002.

This grant is made possible through the following funds of OCF:

• Betsy Elizabeth Hauge Fund - $1,000
• William Swindells Sr. Memorial Endowment Fund - $55,000
• Swindells Family Fund - $4,000

The second summer program, awarded an $8,700 grant, will fund a weeklong summer residential program in science for 10 Native American students from Chemawa Indian School in Salem and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. This grant was provided by the Howard Vollum Scholarship Fund of OCF. For more information on the summer programs, contact Teresa Hudkins in the Willamette University Admission Office at 503-370-6289.

The third OCF grant was presented to Willamette University music Professor Anita King who received a $10,000 grant through the Nellie Tholen Fund to continue her study of the Alexander Technique. This Technique is a method for improving ease and freedom of movement, balance, support, and coordination. Practice of the Technique offers the performer a control, which is fluid and lively, rather than rigid.

The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) was established in 1973 by community leaders to serve as a vehicle for Oregonians to participate in philanthropy throughout the state.

The foundation has three primary functions:

• To build a permanent endowment to benefit the community through the administration of individually tailored charitable funds;
• To make grants and scholarships from the endowments to improve life;
• To provide leadership to address community needs.

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