The Henry Luce Foundation has announced grants totaling $8.8 million in support of women studying and teaching STEM disciplines in which they are underrepresented.

Awarded through the Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Program for Women in STEM, the funding includes grants to twelve institutions of higher education as well as annual distributions to thirteen institutions designated to receive support in perpetuity. New grant recipients include the California Institute of Technology, which was awarded $500,000 in support of a professorship; Grinnell College in Iowa, which will receive $500,000 for two professorships; Notre Dame of Maryland University, which was awarded $172,573 for two undergraduate scholarships; Rutgers University – Newark, which will receive $225,000 for three undergraduate scholarships; and St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, which was awarded $225,000 for three undergraduate scholarships.

Established in 1989, the CBL program has awarded more than $209 million to 201 colleges and universities, including sixty-four grants in support of minority-serving institutions.

“Close mentoring and peer support are especially critical for students who otherwise might not have the opportunity to interact with women like them who are successful in STEM,” said Rutgers University – Newark chancellor Nancy Cantor, who has served on National Science Foundation bodies addressing pathways for women in STEM since the 1980s.

“St. Catherine University aspires to change the faces of leadership in science, tech, engineering, and math to better reflect the communities these fields serve,” said St. Catherine University executive vice president and provost Anita Thomas. “These scholarships, combined with a support structure developed to meet students wherever they are at in life, make it easier for students to focus on bringing their best to their classes.”

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