Schmidts fund six College instructorships

A total of six new instructorships will be added to the College, including two this year and four within the next two years, thanks to a $1 million gift from Catherine B. and Charles E. Schmidt.

Charles Schmidt (Ph.B.'32) a member of the President's Council for several years, said he and his wife, Catherine, decided to help after learning of the need for more instructors in the College.

"My number-one motivation for making this gift was my great admiration for (former President) Hanna Gray," Charles Schmidt said. "And we were really interested in making a gift that would provide help to the University immediately. It seemed nice to be able to give a gift in June and have it go to work in July."

Two Schmidt instructors are teaching this quarter. Two more will join them next year, and an additional two instructors will be added to the faculty in the third year, for a total of six.

John Boyer, Dean of the College, said the gift reflects the Schmidts' profound understanding of the College.

"The Schmidt instructors will play a critical role in teaching in our social sciences and humanities Core programs," Boyer said. "They represent what is best about the College -- excellent teaching and first-rate scholarship."

Gifts such as the Schmidts' greatly enhance the life of the College, Boyer said. "They enable us to appoint a relatively large number of really gifted young scholars and teachers, which makes it possible to enliven and strengthen the College."

In addition to having teaching responsibilities in the Core curriculum, each Schmidt instructor will teach one higher-level concentration course in his or her research specialty.