Chair in international studies honors Barber Conable

The Starr Foundation has awarded RIT $1 million in support of the Barber B. Conable Jr. Endowed Chair in International Studies, named in honor of the late statesman and former World Bank president.

The late Barber B. Conable Jr.

The Conable Chair will be housed in RIT’s College of Liberal Arts, where it will provide intellectual and academic leadership for the proposed B.S. degree program in international studies slated to begin in fall 2004.

The New York-based Starr Foundation was established in 1955 by Cornelius Vander Starr, entrepreneur and founder of the American International family of insurance and financial services companies, now known as American International Group Inc. (AIG).

“The Barber B. Conable Jr. Endowed Chair in International Studies will ensure that Barber Conable’s legacy of principled and innovative leadership in the national and international arenas will be preserved for all time,” said Andrew Moore, dean of RIT’s College of Liberal Arts.

“It gives us great pleasure to make this grant in honor of Barber Conable, in recognition of his distinguished career and his profound understanding of international affairs,” said Florence Davis, president of The Starr Foundation.

Conable was elected to the House of Representatives in 1964 and for 20 years represented a district in western New York that included the counties of Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming, and parts of Monroe. Conable served as the seventh president of the World Bank from 1986 to 1991. He died on Nov. 30, 2003, at age 81.

The holder of the endowed chair will promote the ideals of global citizenship and responsibility embodied in Conable’s achievements. He or she also will focus expertise on how scientific and technological advances impact societies and cultures worldwide, providing an interdisciplinary perspective on such issues as terrorism, international financial crises, and the proliferation of nuclear and biological weapons.

For more information on the Conable Chair or to contribute please contact Bill Pritchard at 585-475-7838.