Hassenfeld Family Foundation Commits $2.2 Million for Social Enterprise Fund and Fellowships at Hopkins-Nanjing Center in China
NEWS RELEASE
April 11, 2011
Contact: Felisa Neuringer Klubes
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Hassenfeld Family Foundation Commits $2.2 Million for Social Enterprise Fund and Fellowships at Hopkins-Nanjing Center in China
Washington, D.C.— April 11, 2011—The Hassenfeld Family Foundation has committed $2.2 million to the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) to establish a social enterprise competition and fellowships at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies (HNC) in China.
The Hassenfeld Social Enterprise Fund will enable Chinese, American and other international graduate students to work together to develop real-world outcomes through innovative projects, while the Hassenfeld Fellowships will ensure that the center attracts the best candidates for its two-year master’s degree program awarded jointly by SAIS and Nanjing University.
“We are not only pleased but so proud of our partners at SAIS for having the vision to collaborate on this new innovative program,” said Alan Hassenfeld. “Hopefully through this initiative, we will bring more hands-on understanding of the global world we now inhabit.”
Ron Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University, said, “We are grateful for the steadfast and visionary support of the Hassenfeld family, a vital partner in Johns Hopkins’ pioneering joint venture in China.”
SAIS Dean Jessica P. Einhorn added, “This thoughtful gift engages our student community in putting their learning to practice, while also providing much needed support for our core requirement for financial aid.”
The Hassenfeld Social Enterprise Fund will support an annual competition at the center to identify a project valued for its social impact and innovation, its potential to make a lasting contribution to social outcomes as well as its promise for nurturing a sense of community between Chinese and international members of the HNC. A committee will select a team comprised of Chinese and international students who propose an innovative and sustainable project with concrete deliverables to address a social need or challenge in China that helps foster community entrepreneurship. As part of the project, the HNC plans to invite leading social entrepreneurs and social enterprise experts to conduct seminars for the students at the center.
The other portion of the gift will support the existing Stephen D. Hassenfeld Fellowship program, providing significant scholarship awards to about 40 master’s degree students over the next five years. After this time period, an endowment will continue to support three to five Hassenfeld Fellows each year, in perpetuity.
Established in 1986, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, located in Nanjing, China, is a graduate-level educational joint venture between Johns Hopkins University and Nanjing University, providing more than180 students from the United States and other countries and China the unique opportunity to live and study together. American and international students take the majority of their courses in Mandarin, while Chinese students study mostly in English. More than 2,000 center graduates work throughout the world, contributing to the multilateral relations between the United States and China. SAIS administers the center’s activities on behalf of Johns Hopkins.
The Hassenfeld Family Foundation is focused on reducing the dire need of children the world over, empowering women globally in order to break the cycle of violence and serving as a catalyst for young social entrepreneurs to improve the world through their involvement.
SAIS is one of the country’s leading graduate schools devoted to the study of international relations. Located along Embassy Row in Washington’s Dupont Circle area, the school enrolls more than 600 full-time graduate students and mid-career professionals and has trained more than 15,000 alumni in all aspects of international affairs. In addition to Washington and Nanjing, SAIS also has a campus in Bologna, Italy.