Barnes’ gift sustains the strength and creativity of DePauw faculty “I valued the environment of a small liberal arts school for an undergraduate education,” Dr. Roberta “Robin” O. Barnes ’70 says. A DePauw legacy and daughter of the late Earl O. Barnes ’31, she calls her college experience “very fulfilling.” She earned a degree in economics and continued to pursue her interest in the field in graduate school, where she met fellow economics student and husband, Dr. Clark J. Chandler. However, it was Robin’s undergraduate education at DePauw that has continued to inspire the couple to give generously to DePauw’s Annual Fund. Robin is an author and retired economist and senior research associate for the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. Clark is a principal of KPMG LLP’s Washington National Tax/ Economic Consulting Services practice. Over the years, their generous contributions to DePauw have earned them recognition as lifetime members in the 1837 Loyalty Club and The Washington C. DePauw Society. According to Robin, the inspiration to make a meaningful financial commitment to her alma mater developed from serving on the DePauw University Board of Visitors. She explained, “Colleges focus on attracting highly qualified students by offering a strong curriculum and a quality college experience. Another key is the strength and creativity of the faculty. We wanted to support the ongoing effort to attract and retain the best faculty possible.” Robin and Clark established an endowed fund that is, in fact, faculty-centered. The Roberta O. Barnes Endowed Fund for the Center for Grants and Research strengthens faculty grant-seeking capacity by supporting related faculty development and services, enhancing grant partner relations, creating a grant-writing mentoring program, and expanding student research and conference presentation capabilities. While a grant award is the obvious end result of a successful proposal, the grant-writing process can also be a valuable endeavor. The grant-writing process benefits faculty by helping them to focus a scholarly or creative plan, facilitate collaboration with colleagues and students, and connect to the academic and professional community beyond the DePauw campus.
During the past year, faculty in DePauw’s departments of modern languages, computer science, art and biology were successful in securing grants to pursue their scholarly and creative efforts. Terri L. Bonebright, dean of faculty and professor of psychology, reported the ability to provide better support for grant-writing efforts as a direct result of the Barnes Fund. Faculty had access to grant databases via annual subscriptions. Several faculty members attended the Council on Undergraduate Research Dialogues, a workshop at which major granting agencies – such as National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health – gathered. Faculty learned how to write more competitive grant proposals. Recalling the couple’s last visit to DePauw, Robin said she was “reminded of the wonderful DePauw traditions but impressed with the exciting changes, which will make DePauw an even better place to live and learn.”
17