In This Section:
Gladsteins establish chair in human rights
Professor's gift helps graduate students
Anthem supports dental services for underserved
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| Photo: Peter Morenus |
| Richard A. Wilson, professor of anthropology, is the first holder of the Judi and Gary Gladstein Chair of Human Rights. |
A faculty chair in human rights has been established in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with a $1 million endowment by Gary Gladstein ’66 (CLAS) and his wife, Judith.
The endowment is funded through the Marsha Lilien Gladstein Foundation and augments the couple’s previous support for UConn’s human rights programs, which includes a visiting professorship and funding for faculty initiatives.
“We see the opportunity at UConn to raise awareness of the student body and faculty to numerous human rights issues present in our society,” says Gary Gladstein, a senior consultant at Soros Fund Management in New York, where he previously served as chief operating officer. “Lack of awareness and respect for the human rights of others, whether in a social, financial, governmental, or educational context, continues to be a major problem in the world today.”
Richard A. Wilson, a professor of anthropology and a noted international scholar in the study of human rights, is the first holder of the Judi and Gary Gladstein Chair of Human Rights. Since joining the UConn faculty in 2003, Wilson has directed the University’s Human Rights Institute, which annually hosts a major international human rights conference, coordinates the study of human rights at UConn, and promotes multidisciplinary research on human rights issues.
Wilson recently published an edited collection called Human Rights in the War on Terror, based on the Institute’s inaugural conference in 2004. He is also the author of works on political violence and social movements in Guatemala.
“We have been working hard over the past two years to establish UConn as an international center for the study and teaching of human rights,” says Wilson. “The generosity of the Gladsteins allows us to take our work to the next level.”
“Gary and Judi Gladstein have been a driving force behind the development of human rights programs at UConn,” says John K. Martin, president of the UConn Foundation. “This significant gift further elevates the University’s international profile in this important field of study.”
Stuart Sidney is a mathematician with a mission—to gather support for a new Mathematics Graduate Fund that he and two colleagues in the UConn mathematics department in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences have established.
Sidney, a professor of mathematics, donated a monetary award bestowed upon him by the UConn Alumni Association, which recognized him with its Award for Excellence in Teaching at the graduate level. The amount raised is expected soon to reach the $10,000 minimum level for faculty-established endowments.
The Mathematics Graduate Fund will extend Sidney’s lifelong interest in mathematics by helping the department competitively recruit graduate students and provide the “extras” that help retain and reward top students, such as paying for travel to conferences.
Sidney says building endowments at UConn, where he has worked since 1972, is a good philanthropic investment. “It’s kind of fun—a new world for me,” he says.“You have to think about what your priorities are and how you can make a difference. UConn has been a very good place for me, and if I can help UConn students, that’s great.”
The Mathematics Graduate Fund was established by Sidney; Michael Neumann, mathematics department head; and Manuel Lerman, professor of math sciences and director of the mathematics graduate program.
Sidney and his wife, Joan Seliger Sidney, a poet and author with ties to UConn, have also established an endowed fund in Judaic studies in memory of Joan’s parents.
Anthem supports dental services for underserved
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| Photo: Peter Morenus |
A $350,000 grant from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation will support a partnership between the UConn School of Dental Medicine and the Charter Oak Health Center, Inc., in Hartford that will provide access to oral health services for uninsured and underinsured residents in Connecticut.
The dental school has supported Charter Oak previously with community-based clinical training for UConn postdoctoral dental residents and predoctoral dental students. The partnership will triple the number of dental patients currently being served by UConn and Charter Oak, says Peter Robinson, dean of the dental school.