Jessie Ball duPont Fund Representatives Visit Campus

Representatives from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund visited Meredith College on April 5, 2017. David Llewellyn, a duPont trustee, and Barbara Roole, senior program officer, spent the day seeing the results of funding that duPont has provided for more than 30 years.

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund has funded more than $1 million in initiatives at Meredith including Teaching Fellows, Meredith’s adult education program, general education, energy management phases, technology initiatives, and undergraduate research and mentorship. Their support aligns with their mission of providing young people access to opportunities that will prepare them for success.

“The purpose of the trip included learning about Meredith College, both its challenges and opportunities, and to hear from faculty and students about initiatives that are currently or have previously been funded,” said Cindy Godwin, associate vice president for institutional advancement. “We were pleased to hear them say that our students and faculty are first rate.”

The representatives met with President Jo Allen and Godwin, followed by a tour of campus. They also had the opportunity to meet with Paul Winterhoff, professor in human environmental sciences and director of undergraduate research, and CarolinaPerez-Heydrich, assistant professor in biological sciences, to learn about how duPont funds have recently been used in undergraduate research.

A $95,000 grant paired 15 Meredith students with eight Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy students. The partnership provides leadership and mentoring opportunities for Meredith students from multiple disciplines. The academic experience will better prepare Meredith students for success in future graduate work and research in their respective fields and WYWLA students benefit from early exposure to academic research in a college setting.

The funding received from 2014-16 allowed Meredith to hire a director for the Wings programs, fund marketing efforts, give advising support, and provided funds for information sessions about the program. Tom Manning, director of Wings, and a Wings student also met with the representatives to discuss how funding enhanced the program.