Backed by two $10 million gifts, Bryn Mawr College has started implementing a new strategic plan centered on expanding access, modernizing campus facilities, and increasing institutional visibility, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Jacqueline Badger Mars, a member of the Class of 1961 and heir to the Mars candy fortune, provided one of the gifts. The second eight-figure donation came from the late Frances K. Conley, who graduated from Bryn Mawr in 1962 and later became a neurosurgeon as well as the first female surgical resident at Stanford University.
Mars directed her gift toward undergraduate scholarships, while the Conley bequest will fund multiple initiatives within the ten-year strategic plan recently unveiled by second-year President Wendy Cadge.
The Mars gift will support the Beacon Initiative, which provides free tuition for families with household incomes under $175,000. According to Cadge, nearly 80 percent of Bryn Mawr students receive financial aid, and the college is now aiming to meet 100 percent of demonstrated financial need.
“We are deeply committed to financial aid, and we would not have made the Beacon’s commitment if we couldn’t afford it,” said Cage.
Read more about Bryn Mawr College and its new plan in the Philadelphia Business Journal.
