Donation

Jeffrey Cunard (center) with
Professor Rahim Shayega
 and Dean Alexandra Minna Stern
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As blog readers will know, we like to take note of donations to UCLA that involve research and teaching (as opposed to bricks and mortar). From the UCLA Newsroom:

Enhancing our knowledge of ancient cultures is an essential foundation for humanistic understanding and can illuminate many of the challenges of today and the future. That vision is behind the new UCLA Jeffrey P. Cunard Center for Global Antiquity, made possible by alumnus Jeffrey Cunard’s $11 million blended gift.

Housed in the UCLA College Division of Humanities, the Cunard Center will support and expand the groundbreaking work of faculty and students on the diversity, achievements and interconnectedness of ancient cultures. The center aims to deepen interdisciplinary expertise and scholarship about the cultures of the past, both across campus and beyond.

The Cunard Center’s intertwined goals are to:

Foster deep, enthusiastic faculty scholarship, which, in turn, will inspire innovative new programs and undergraduate and graduate courses.

Provide critical funding for graduate students and awards to faculty, as well as graduate and undergraduate students.

Provide a forum where scholars across disciplines and departments can come together to discuss and further comparative knowledge as to the similarities and differences in how ancient peoples around the globe — not just in the Mediterranean — dealt with all aspects of the human condition.

Explore how the teaching and experience of ancient cultures can inform the present and the future.

Disseminate the work of all involved to other scholars and the general public via multiple formats and platforms, including a new podcast, academic publication series, enhanced research initiatives, and public and academic programming, including a new Cunard Lecture Series in Global Antiquity.

“UCLA is at the forefront of developing ancient studies as an interdisciplinary and critical field, led by diverse, world-class faculty members studying the ancient past,” said Alexandra Minna Stern, dean of the humanities division. “This gift will help ensure that UCLA remains a leader in approaching the discipline with a full and nuanced understanding of the ancient world, and we are deeply grateful to Jeffrey Cunard and inspired by the opportunities his generosity will create for humanities scholars now and in the future.” ...

Full news release at https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ancient-studies-expansion-new-center-humanities-division.