Grants That Make a Difference
January 1, 2007
Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies Receives $10 Million from the New York Life Foundation
The Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies at the City College of New York received the largest grant ever made by the New York Life Foundation as well as the largest corporate foundation award ever given to the City College of New York. The $10 million grant will establish the New York Life Endowment for Emerging African-American Issues and will provide permanent funding for scholarships and support research on factors at the global, national and local level that affect African-Americans and other underserved groups.
General Colin L. Powell, a graduate of City College, founded the Center in 1997 and serves as Distinguished Scholar and Chairman of its Advisory Council. The student-focused policy center produces policy research and introduces students to the world of policymaking. The Center's strength is the interdisciplinary nature of its focus and programs. The Powell Center for Policy Studies serves students from a variety of departments, working with not only political scientists and liberal arts and sciences specialists but also introducing students in City College's professional schools of engineering, architecture and education to the process of policymaking in their disciplines.
Each year, the New York Life Endowment for Emerging African-American Issues will fund 21 scholarships, 16 for undergraduates and five for graduate students, as well as eight summer internships. Through these internships, the endowment will directly address the reality that for financial reasons many students are unable to accept unpaid internships that provide valuable career opportunities.
"In the realm of public policymaking, we need a workforce that is truly reflective of modern American society," General Powell noted. "To achieve that we must create opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to prepare for public service careers. The Endowment will do just that by enabling deserving students to immerse themselves in the study and practice of policymaking, unencumbered by the need to hold down part-time jobs to pay their school expenses."
Students selected for the program will train for service learning, undertake internships, study with and be mentored by professionals, develop and implement policy and other research, work on Center publications, and attend conferences, workshops, and seminars.
Source: "New York Life Gift to Support Significant Expansion for Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies at CCNY", Press release, the City College of New York (December 5, 2006).
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