The Women’s Philanthropy Network (WPN) at Georgia State University has selected nine college- and unit-level initiatives designed to boost student opportunity and nurture student success as 2023 WPN grant recipients.

The 2023 WPN grants, totaling more than $300,000, advance the organization’s mission of directly and positively benefitting students by strengthening the programs that make a difference in their success at Georgia State and beyond.

“The initiatives selected to receive WPN grants will provide meaningful support to students and help create the opportunities and freedom for them to more fully pursue their academic and professional goals,” said Felicia Mayfield, Women’s Philanthropy Network chair. “WPN is proud to contribute funding to programs that remove financial barriers to achievement, foster community and nurture discovery in ways that help Panthers succeed at Georgia State and in their careers.”

Three 2023 awardees also received WPN grants during the 2022 grant cycle. These initiatives are:

• School of Public Health EMPOWER program: The WPN grant will support the EMPOWER (Engaging Multidisciplinary Professional Opportunities for Women in Environmental Research) program, which aims to enhance the diversity of the environmental health workforce by providing women — Atlanta-area high school teachers and students from underrepresented groups — with a four-week summer research experience.

• College of Education & Human Development Initial Teacher Preparation Programs: The grant will help sustain and grow the Induction Support Program, which provides mentoring and other supports for GSU teacher education and other school professionals in the first or second year of their careers.

• University Library Women’s Collection: The grant will fund a one-year paid internship for a recent GSU graduate considering a career as an archivist to work with the University Library’s Women’s Collection. The internship will provide hands-on experience from which the individual will learn a variety of skills that will make them competitive as they enter the profession.

The first-time recipients of WPN grants this year are:

• Honors College transition scholarship program: The WPN grant will help fund 10 scholarships to help Honors College students at Perimeter campuses successfully transition to the downtown campus.

• Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing & Health Professions student success program: WPN grant funds will help underwrite the creation of a formal language support program to help the college’s non-native English speakers.

• School of Public Health GLOBE program: The GLOBE program is designed to expand participation in experiential learning opportunities, like study abroad, and increase exposure to global health in classrooms for School of Public Health students. The WPN grant will fund study abroad scholarships and provide other program support.

• Office of Student Engagement Women’s History Month sponsor: Funds from the WPN grant will enable the Office of Student Engagement to hire a graduate assistant for the 2023-24 academic year who will lead the office’s Women’s History Month activities, with a focus on the Annual Women’s Leadership Experience Retreat.

• College of Education & Human Development Child Development Center: WPN funds will create childcare tuition scholarships for multiple Georgia State students with unmet financial need. These scholarships will enable each recipient’s child to attend GSU’s Child Development Program while they continue their education.

• College of Law Summer Public Interest Legal Internships: The WPN grant will fund stipends for five Georgia State College of Law students working unpaid summer internships with organizations serving women or working on issues impacting those who identify as women.

Colleges and units from the university’s Atlanta Campus that are interested in applying for a WPN grant will be able to submit funding proposals when the next grant cycle opens in early 2024.

Support the Women’s Philanthropy Network’s mission and learn more about how it is uplifting Georgia State programs and students at giving.gsu.edu/wpn. Explore how donor dollars are making a difference at Georgia State at giving.gsu.edu.