The Starr Foundation Donates $1 million to RIT’s Barber B. Conable Jr. Endowed Chair in International Studies

In honor of the late statesman and former World Bank President Barber Conable, The Starr Foundation has awarded Rochester Institute of Technology $1 million in support of the Barber B. Conable Jr. Endowed Chair in International Studies.

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 foundation’s gift is the largest ever received by the college.

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). One of the largest private foundations in the United States, The Starr Foundation makes grants in a number of areas, including education, medicine and healthcare, human needs, public policy, culture and the environment.

“We are most grateful for The Starr Foundation’s generous support,” said Andrew Moore, dean of RIT’s College of Liberal Arts. “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.”

“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. “His achievements reflect the vision of C.V. Starr and mesh well with the foundation’s mission.”

Conable was elected to the House of Representatives in 1964. For 20 years, he 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 the age of 81.

The holder of the endowed chair will promote the ideals of global citizenship and responsibility embodied in Conable’s achievements. He or she will also 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. A renowned scholar will be named to the Conable Chair once the remaining funds needed are secured.

The College of Liberal Arts, one of eight at RIT, provides an academic foundation in the arts and humanities for every RIT student. The college offers six undergraduate and three graduate degree programs in studies ranging from professional and technical communication to public policy.

Rochester Institute of Technology enrolls 15,500 students in more than 340 undergraduate and graduate programs. Its cooperative education program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation.

For the past decade, U.S. News and World Report has ranked RIT as one of the nation’s leading comprehensive universities. RIT is also included in The Fiske Guide to Colleges, as well as Barron’s Best Buys in Education.