FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Susie P. Gonzalez

susie.gonzalez@trinity.edu

Sept. 14, 2009

Trinity University Receives $1 Million Gift to Support Environmental Studies

SAN ANTONIO – Trinity University has received a $1 million gift that will support its Environmental Studies program. Part of the University’s comprehensive Campaign – Dream. Inspire. Achieve. The Campaign for Trinity University – the gift was made anonymously, and it is intended to provide scholarships and research stipends for students who want to protect and improve the local, regional, and global environment.

Environmental Studies at Trinity is currently offered as a minor, and it is an interdisciplinary study of the Earth’s environment and human interaction with it. Interested students take courses that address environmental issues from natural science, economic, and socio-cultural perspectives. The program also includes required courses in anthropology, biology, economics, and geosciences, along with several electives.

Richard K. Reed, chair of sociology and anthropology and director of Trinity’s Environmental Studies program, greeted news of the gift with gratitude. “This is an exciting moment for environmental studies at Trinity University .  The gift will help us attract students who have a passion for the environment and allow them to do research about the serious environmental problems we confront,” Professor Reed said.

Trinity’s Campaign – Dream. Inspire. Achieve. The Campaign for Trinity University – was launched Sept. 22, 2005, as the most ambitious and challenging advancement initiative in Trinity’s history. With a goal of $200 million, the campaign is allowing Trinity to continue to recruit the best and brightest students, regardless of their financial circumstances. In addition to scholarships, the Campaign supports innovative new academic programs that capitalize on Trinity’s strengths and meet the demands of the global society in which students must thrive. In August, the University announced that the fund-raising goal had not only been reached but exceeded. The Campaign is in its final month, and a total is expected to be announced Sept. 24 at the President’s Dinner, a gala honoring major benefactors and friends of the University.

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