In January, Vice President Joe Biden visited the Abramson Cancer Center in honor of his son, 1991 College graduate Beau Biden, who died last year of brain cancer.
Credit: Susanna JaramilloThe Institute of International Education recently announced that it has been given a donation of $1 million in honor of 1991 College of Arts and Sciences graduate Beau Biden.
The anonymous donation is intended to offer academic freedom to scholars living in dangerous areas, especially overseas. The Institute will choose one scholar per year to receive the prize.
Scholars relating to Biden’s own service will be given preference, as will the prevalent universities in his life. These include the University of Delaware, of his home state, Syracuse University — where Biden received his law degree — and his undergraduate alma mater, Penn.
The organization will place a “scholar in danger” at a partnering university to ensure a safe haven to continue his or her academic work. According to the IIE press release,“It will enable them to continue their academic careers, teaching and conducting research at safe haven universities, with the goal of saving them so they can continue to educate the future generation and in many cases, help to rebuild their home countries after times of crisis and conflict.”
The Institute of International Education Scholar Rescue Fund works to assist threatened scholars. It has helped 633 scholars from 55 countries and placed them at hundreds of universities around the world.
This is not the first scholarship granted in the name of Beau Biden. The Joseph R. “Beau” Biden III Memorial Scholarship was announced in February, and is funded through the University in a partnership with the Tau Chapter of Psi Upsilon, or Castle, of which he was a brother during his time at Penn.
“We are honored to be receiving continued support in memory of Beau,” Director of Development for Undergraduate Financial Aid Maryann O’Leary-Salas said.
In a statement, board member of the IIE and 1966 Wharton graduate Ted Kaufman said of Biden, “He used his voice to speak for those who couldn’t speak for themselves, and he used his power to protect the most powerless. This endowment will continue that legacy of service and sacrifice.”
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