Page 10 - Abacoa Community News - November '19

Page 10, Abacoa

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FAU Wilkes Honors College Receives $1 Million Donation

Florida Atlantic Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College About William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust
University’s (FAU) for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust is named for
Harriet L. Wilkes the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the William R. Kenan Jr., a chemical engineer who helped in
Honors College Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the discovery of the process of converting calcium carbide
met the “Kenan the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine to acetylene and the construction of carbide and acetylene
Challenge,” raising E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt plants at the turn of the 19th century. As brother-in-law to
$1 million to match College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Henry M. Flagler, Kenan established a strong interest in
a $1 million gift Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Florida and spent the majority of his later years in the state.
from the William R. Advancement of Teaching. The university is placing special In 1904, Kenan built the first 210-kilowatt power plant in
Kenan, Jr. Charitable focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form Miami, and in 1955 as a director of Florida Power & Light,
Trust. This gift the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, he turned on one of the largest power plants in the state,
creates a permanent coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative the 140,000-kilowatt power generator in Cutler. Kenan
endowment for medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. also served for many years as president of the Florida East
the Kenan Social Amanda Barstow and David Gorski These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students Coast Railway and the Florida East Coast Hotel Company.
Engagement to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and Following his death in 1965, a major portion of his estate
Program, which provides scholarships and seed funding scholarship. For more information, visit fau.edu. was used to establish the trust.
to Wilkes Honors College students who learn about social
entrepreneurship and write business plans to start their
ventures. The program is designed to educate students in the JUPITER INLET LIGHTHOUSE BENEFIT
fundamentals of social entrepreneurship; help them develop
plans for addressing a pressing social need and assist them
in partnering with nonprofit organizations.
“We are proud of the Kenan Social Engagement
Program,” said Douglas Zinn, executive director of the
William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. “We look forward
to following the extraordinary student-leaders in the Harriet
L. Wilkes Honors College, as they create social ventures that
will impact the community and leave a legacy.”
Since 2012, more than 100 students participated in the
program, volunteering 2,000 hours of academic service
learning with community partners such as El Sol, Easterseals
Florida, Palm Beach County Food Bank, and The Lord’s
Place. Kenan scholars receive a $1,000 scholarship per
semester, and start-up funding for their ventures. Each year,
up to four Kenan scholars have a chance to compete for
$10,000 in start-up funding for a promising business plan.
“The greatest measure of success and impact of the
program is evidenced in the trajectories of these impressive
young people and their commitment to giving back to the
community as they enter their professional careers,” said
Tim Steigenga, Ph.D., co-director of the Kenan Social
Engagement Scholarship Program and interim dean at the
Wilkes Honors College. “We are particularly grateful to not
only the Kenan Trust but also the many local foundations
and donors who helped us meet this challenge and expand
the impact of the program.”
The Kenan Social Engagement Program is part
of the larger platform of leadership, innovation, and
entrepreneurship outlined in FAU’s strategic plan. Several
students from the program have competed in the Business
Plan Competition and entered into FAU’s Tech Runway to
incubate their social ventures. Nov 23, 2019
About Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961,
officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public 6–9pm
university in Florida. Today, the university, with an annual
economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000
undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout Jupiter Inlet
its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s
world-class teaching and research faculty serves students Lighthouse Waterfront
through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of

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