AUSTIN, Texas A $680,890 grant from the Embrey Family Foundation will bolster teaching, research and outreach efforts in the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (CWGS) at The University of Texas at Austin, and will include funding for a new Women’s and Gender Studies professorship focusing on critical human rights.
The grant will also continue funding for undergraduate Signature Courses that address human rights issues and for the Performing Justice Project, a joint project with the Department of Theatre and Dance that helps Austin-area high school students and other communities of young women develop performances based on social justice themes. The grant will also support a post-doctoral position for a scholar of critical human rights for two years.
“We are so thankful for this creative grant from the Embrey Family Foundation,” said UT Austin president Bill Powers. “There is nothing more important than human rights and nothing more powerful than education to promote them. The foundation has my profound thanks.”
“The Embrey Family Foundation is excited to continue developing its growing partnership with the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Texas. It has been a fulfilling partnership,” said Lauren Embrey of the Embrey Family Foundation. “The progress achieved and performance exhibited by the Center has been exemplary. We look forward to future opportunities and collaborations with the Center as we participate in the education of young people and work towards a just society for all.”
“This grant provides a tremendous opportunity for the college to enhance teaching and research in the area of human rights,” said Randy Diehl, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “It also supports important outreach efforts in our local community, engaging young people in the important issues that are shaping their world.”
The grant builds on previous funding CWGS has received from the foundation. A $450,000 grant in 2010 established the Women’s Human Rights Initiative, and a $100,200 grant in 2011 provided funds for NEW LeadershipTM Texas, a summer institute at UT Austin that addresses the underrepresentation of women in state politics and policy making.
“We are deeply appreciative of the support the Embrey Family Foundation has shown for the Center’s academic mission,” said Susan Sage Heinzelman, author of the grant proposal, director of the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies and an associate professor of English.
J. Lindsay Embrey established the Dallas-based Embrey Family Foundation in 2004. Its mission includes the advancement of human rights awareness around the world.
