Office of Public Information and Communications Columbia University New York, N.Y. 10027 (212) 854-5573
The Compton Foundation, Inc. has awarded $1 million to Columbia University to establish an endowed professorship in the School of Social Work to celebrate the school's forthcoming centennial in 1998. The Compton Foundation Centennial Professorship for the Prevention of Chldren's and Youth Problems will address the critical problems of at-risk young people and particularly the prevention of teen pregnancy, said Social Work Dean Ronald A. Feldman in announcing the new chair.
Dean Feldman said the professorship "will directly address one of our nation's most pressing social problems at the same time that it significantly advances the School and its leadership capacity throughout the world."
The Foundation's president, James R. Compton, and its Vice President, Ann Compton Stephens, a 1946 graduate of the School, said in a joint statement that the gift recognizes "the outstanding reputation and accomplishments of the School of Social Work and our shared perception that the critical problems of at-risk young people, and especially those who are likely to become pregnant, are deserving of our greatest attention and support at this time."
A successor to the Compton Trust, the Foundation was established in 1973 to address community, national, and international concerns in the areas of peace and world order, population, and the environment. Its previous gifts to the University include the Dorothy D. Compton Fellowship Fund for minority financial aid and other funding for student scholarships.
The Compton Professorship is the second endowed chair created for the School's 100th anniversary. The Ruth Harris Ottman Centennial Professorship for the Advancement of Social Work Education was also established this fall.
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