RWU announces $500K gift to create Hassenfeld Projects

BRISTOL – Hassenfeld Family Initiatives LLC donated a $500,000 grant to establish Hassenfeld Projects at Roger Williams University, a three-year initiative to expand and enhance the use of experiential education, RWU announced Tuesday.

Hassenfeld Student Leaders, students who will act as mentors heading up interdisciplinary projects, and Hassenfeld Fellows, faculty members commended for their integration of experiential learning and community engagement, will be formed as separate organizations using money provided in the grant.

Finally, Roger Williams will design Hassenfeld Projects, future multi-disciplinary, collaborative ventures which will focus on community self-reliance by empowering individuals through the transfer of skills and technology.

In 1993 and 1987, respectively, Alan Hassenfeld and his late brother Stephen received honorary degrees from the school. In Rhode Island, Hassenfeld Family Initiatives LLC has previously undertaken projects with the goal of improving the economy, education and business opportunities; globally, the organization prioritizes human rights and empower women in developing countries.

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“The Hassenfeld name is synonymous with innovation and good works throughout Rhode Island and across the globe,” said Roger Williams University President Donald Farish.

He called the collaboration a “shining example of social accountability in higher education” in which students approach the real problems faced by communities.

These projects will be implemented through existing relationships RWU has built with local communities, which are overseen by the school’s Community Partnerships Center. Since 2010 the CPC has completed 193 projects, valued at $2.36 million to the local economy, in the name of community engagement and economic development.

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