Education Funding

Fonda Gives Harvard Ed. School $12 Million

By Marianne D. Hurst — March 07, 2001 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Jane Fonda has donated $12.5 million for the establishment of an interdisciplinary research center at Harvard University’s graduate school of education—the largest personal donation the school has ever received.

The Harvard Center on Gender and Education will specialize in exploring the effect that gender has on the learning and development of children.

“It will be built on the great work that’s already going on here at the school,” Jerome T. Murphy, the dean of the graduate school, said of the gift from the actress. “Jane Fonda’s generous commitment offers Harvard an incomparable opportunity to examine, both domestically and globally, the issues that affect how boys and girls learn, and to develop ways to strengthen their resilience and academic growth.”

The center’s initial goals will be to sponsor research, devise teaching strategies and practices, and help educators address gender issues within schools and communities, Mr. Murphy said.

“There are no real limitations on what the center can do,” added Christine Sanni, a spokeswoman for the graduate school. “It will draw from almost every academic aspect of the university. This means, for example, that the medical school might apply for gender research that involves the treatment of boys with [attention deficit disorder]. “

“Jane Fonda did make one thing very clear,” Ms. Sanni said. “She didn’t want the program to become a white, ivory-tower think tank. The program is, therefore, designed to influence actual practices and assist students.”

Chair Endowed

Ms. Fonda, who has worked on behalf of teenage-pregnancy-prevention efforts in Atlanta, initiated the project last spring when she spoke at the university about the challenges faced by young women in education and the widespread efforts made to give women equal access to education abroad.

She challenged Mr. Murphy to build a research base at the university and offered to underwrite the project. “I recognized the need to bring some of these lessons home,” Ms. Fonda said last week in a statement. “We still have a culture that teaches girls and boys a distorted view of what it takes to be women and men.”

Though Ms. Fonda had no formal affiliation with the university, she chose to donate money to the school in part because she was inspired by the work of the psychologist Carol Gilligan, a member of the graduate school faculty who has conducted extensive research on gender issues. Ms. Gilligan will help in the formation of the center.

To honor Ms. Gilligan’s work, $2.5 million will go toward the creation of an endowed faculty chair in her name and an administrative support staff, according to Mr. Murphy.

A version of this article appeared in the March 07, 2001 edition of Education Week as Fonda Gives Harvard Ed. School $12 Million

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding Biden's Budget Proposes Smaller Bump to Education Spending
The president requested increases to Title I and IDEA, and funding to expand preschool access in his 2025 budget proposal.
7 min read
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering prices for American families during an event at the YMCA Allard Center on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, N.H.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering prices for American families during an event at the YMCA Allard Center on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, N.H. Biden's administration released its 2025 budget proposal, which includes a modest spending increase for the Education Department.
Evan Vucci/AP
Education Funding States Are Pulling Back on K-12 Spending. How Hard Will Schools Get Hit?
Some states are trimming education investments as financial forecasts suggest boom times may be over.
6 min read
Collage illustration of California state house and U.S. currency background.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
Education Funding Using AI to Guide School Funding: 4 Takeaways
One state is using AI to help guide school funding decisions. Will others follow?
5 min read
 Illustration of a robot hand drawing a graph line leading to budget and finalcial spending.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding A State Uses AI to Determine School Funding. Is This the Future or a Cautionary Tale?
Nevada reworked its funding formula hoping to target extra aid to students most in need. What happened could hold lessons for other states.
13 min read
Illustration of robotic hand putting coins into jar.
iStock / Getty Images Plus