NORTON – Wheaton College received a $10 million commitment from the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation to support the integration of social entrepreneurship education into the study of the liberal arts and sciences, the school announced Thursday.
The college said that the donation was one of the largest in the school’s history.
The pledge establishes an endowed professorship in social entrepreneurship, provides funds for entrepreneurial education programming and launches a fundraising challenge that will support the construction of dedicated space for bringing Wheaton’s existing social innovation programs into a single space.
“This is a transformational gift for Wheaton College as a whole and it is a game-changer for our programs in social entrepreneurship and innovation,” said Wheaton President Dennis M. Hanno in a statement. “We are committed to being the leading liberal arts college in preparing students to create innovative solutions to big challenges. This commitment will help us to support them in putting those ideas into action while they are students.”
Diana Davis Spencer, the president of the foundation and a philanthropist, is a 1960 graduate of Wheaton College and a trustee emerita of the college.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
