Graduate eNews

Winter 2006 [Return to issue home]

ARCS, a Growing Partnership

ARCS FoundationThe Graduate School takes pride in a remarkable partnership with the Seattle Chapter of Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS), a group of strong, intelligent, forward-thinking women who personally support and raise funds for graduate student fellowships in the sciences, engineering and medicine. As such, the Seattle Chapter of ARCS represents a unique combination of intellectual pursuit, social consciousness and remarkable generosity.

Over the past 28 years, ARCS has given or pledged more than $9 million to the UW, the most recent pledge being $2.5 million over the next four years. These funds have helped to recruit and retain more than 600 top students to the UW since 1978, with most students receiving funding for a three-year period or more. In the last year, ARCS and eight of its individual members made gift commitments totaling $800,000 for new endowed funds. When combined with matching funds provided by the State of Washington, the UW Matching Initiative, and The Graduate School, the University will be able to establish new endowed fellowships valued collectively at more than $1.6 million.