The Bernard Osher Foundation has awarded a grant of $1 million to establish an endowment to sustain the Osher Reentry Scholarship program at Towson University.   Osher began its investment in reentry students at Towson University with a $50,000 grant for the 2007-2008 academic year; that award was followed by grants of $50,000 in each of the next succeeding years.
 
The Osher Foundation defines reentry students as non-traditionally-aged persons who are pursuing a first bachelor's degree after having experienced an interruption of at least five years.  Grants are need-based and intended to defray the cost of tuition.
 
To date, Osher Reentry Scholarship grants have funded 92 Reentry Scholars at Towson University.
 
"Thanks to the continued financial support of the Osher Foundation more reentry scholars will get the opportunity to renew their dream of pursuing a college degree," Towson University President Robert Caret said.
 
The Osher Foundation funds reentry scholarships at 73 institutions across 30 states and the District of Columbia.  For more info on the Osher Foundation, visit www.osherfoundation.org.
 
In May 2009, the Bernard Osher Foundation awarded the Towson University Foundation a $1 million endowment to sustain the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Towson University.
 

The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced it will receive a $1 million endowment from the Henry and Elaine Kaufman Foundation to support a fellowship in business history, in affiliation with the school's Center for Financial Policy. University of Maryland history professor David Sicilia was appointed the first Henry Kaufman Fellow in Business History, effective July 1.
 
Henry Kaufman, a world-renowned economist and author, first became involved with the Center for Financial Policy last fall when he spoke to business leaders, policy makers, faculty and students at two separate events about the financial crisis and his recent book, "The Road to Financial Reformation: Warnings, Consequences, Reforms." The Center for Financial Policy launched in fall 2009 and serves as a forum for the exchange of views among research leaders, policy makers and institutions to grapple with cutting-edge financial policy issues for both the private and public sectors. The center holds roundtable events and hosts top speakers.  The Academic Fellows Program, the first of which is the Henry Kaufman Fellow in Business History, is intended to help foster cross-disciplinary research and thought leadership.
 
"This fellowship in business history helps us achieve the overall mission of the new Center for Financial Policy," said Smith School Dean G. "Anand" Anandalingam. "This fellowship signifies an important new direction in the educational mission of the Smith School's curriculum in ensuring that our current business students are taught critically important lessons from the history of finance and the capitalist system, and that current policy makers understand the importance of business history when making decisions." 
 
In his role as business history fellow, Professor Sicilia will focus on engaging in and publishing academic research, and he will help develop programs that highlight the strategic implications of business history that support the Center for Financial Policy's mission of promoting research and education that informs policy. The fellowship is a five-year renewable appointment.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, became national college chess champions April 11 after beating three teams in what is known as the final four of chess.  UMBC has won the tournament six of the past 10 years. The weekend-long tournament was held at the University of Texas at Brownsville, and included that institution, as well as the University of Texas at Dallas, UMBC, and Texas Tech University.

The National Science Foundation has awarded Salisbury University $996,303 to increase the number of graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.  The grant is the largest NSF award in SU history, and includes initial funding of $637,695 for three years and $358,608 for two additional years based on project progress. The grant will fund a new Bridges for SUCCESS Program (Salisbury University's Connections to Careers for Every STEM Student).  The program is designed to increase STEM graduates by 75 percent within five years.