The Spence School has received a grant from The Starr Foundation to enhance and broaden the School’s STEM curriculum. The grant has helped Spence establish an endowed fund that will support the School’s Girls in Science Program.

 

In sharing the news of The Starr Foundation grant with the community, Head of School Bodie Brizendine said, “We plan to develop a range of new opportunities for Middle School students that include Independent Science Research projects, an annual science symposium as well as a Girls in Science Summer Program.” The endowed fund will help build on the School’s ongoing partnership with NYU science professors, an initiative launched in 2016 to encourage girls and young women to develop a passion for scientific research.

 

Dr. Cybele Raver ’82, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Analytics and Graduate Academic Affairs at NYU, has been instrumental in the planning of the Spence/NYU collaboration. “This grant will strengthen opportunities for Middle School students in physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, engineering, and data science, and ultimately, the advancement of girls’ leadership in science,” said Dr. Raver in support of Spence’s Starr Foundation grant.

 

Brizendine added, “We are thrilled to be able to develop more programming that counters the persistent under-representation of women studying and working in STEM fields, and we are deeply appreciative of our own alumnae, Hanna Lundqvist Dameron ’04 and her father, Bertil Lundqvist, who facilitated The Starr Foundation grant, and Dr. Cybele Raver ’82, who leads our collaborations with NYU.”