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WELLESLEY, Mass. -- With a gift that mirrors their own
interests as well as their commitment to Wellesley's academic
offerings, Donald and Susan Marley Newhouse '55 have pledged
$10 million to create and name a humanities center at Wellesley
College. Half of the gift will be used for capital construction
and equipment for the
Susan and Donald Newhouse Center for the Humanities and half will endow faculty salaries and
academic program support.
"The establishment of the Humanities Center reflects our
personal and professional interests and will be an important
addition to the College's academic program," said Susan
Newhouse, a member of the Board of Trustees and a co-chair
of The Wellesley Campaign. "We are especially gratified
to be able to make this commitment at such a critical time
in the campaign, as Wellesley moves into the second half
of its five-year effort."
The gift will permanently endow a visiting associate professor
of creative writing and a director for the Newhouse Center
for the Humanities. Equally vital is the creation of endowment
support for faculty programming and administrative costs
associated with the center.
"This very generous gift from two ardent Wellesley supporters
-- both of whom love writing, words, art, architecture,
and all things beautiful -- makes it possible for us to
move forward with the planning and design for what will
be a new and vibrant academic space," said President Diana
Chapman Walsh in announcing the gift. "The humanities disciplines
share common interpretive modes and angles of vision, and
yet they see from various vantage points. They cherish the
principle of perspective, and hence of a multiplicity of
perspectives. They preserve time-honored traditions and
make innumerable connections. They search for the highest
values by which we can live. And fundamentally it is human
dignity, humane order, an inquisitive rationality, and a
reverence for language and beauty that the humanities are
determined to keep alive and well. And Wellesley is determined
to keep the humanities alive and well, which is why the
Humanities Center has from the outset been a centerpiece
of our campaign."
The capital portion of the gift enables the College to
launch the planning process for the most suitable location
and architectural design for the center. The Newhouse Center
will include common spaces for meetings, colloquia, and
seminars; office space for the director and visiting humanities
faculty; and multimedia equipment and resources for teaching
and learning.
Residents of New York City, the Newhouses have made earlier
generous commitments to The Wellesley Campaign. Through
the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation they have pledged $1.3
million for current use financial aid and $1 million to
endow scholarships for international students.
In addition to her volunteer leadership at Wellesley, Susan
Newhouse is chair of The Fresh Air Fund and a trustee of
the New York Public Library. Donald Newhouse is president
of Advance Publications, Inc., one of the largest U.S. newspaper
and magazine publishers.
Through the Wellesley Campaign, a five-year fundraising
effort, Wellesley has raised $307 million towards its $400
million goal.
Wellesley College has been a leader in liberal arts and
the education of women for more than 125 years. The College's
500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,300 undergraduate
students.
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