The Association of American Universities (AAU) recently announced that it has received a grant from the Charles Koch Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The respective grants will help support the launch of the AAU PhD Education Initiative, which has a mission of making diverse PhD career pathways visible, valued, and viable. The Charles Koch Foundation’s grant of $50,000 will help to ensure that the arts and humanities are included in the pilot.
AAU President Mary Sue Coleman said: “We are very grateful for the Sloan and Koch foundation’s support in advancing the AAU PhD Education Initiative. AAU will work to encourage America’s leading research universities to develop plans and implement key recommendations from last year’s National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) report on Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century.”
Ryan Stowers, Executive Vice President of the Charles Koch Foundation, commented: “The Charles Koch Foundation has provided support to institutions of higher education for decades with the goal of helping as many people as possible experience the transformational benefits of education. The Association of American Universities is embarking on an impressive effort to increase the diversity of career paths for PhD students and help more students receive the full benefits of their education over the course of their careers. We are honored to support AAU as it launches this initiative.”