Two Women, Singular Support Faith Emeny Conger ’50 and Clara Taplin Rankin ’34 secure the future of HB’s Center for Global Citizenship and open doors to the world for HB girls
Alumnae News 69
Clara Taplin Rankin ’34 (left) and Faith Emeny Conger ’50 (right) support global education for HB students who travel and study in India (above) and other countries around the world.
he reasons for giving back to Hathaway Brown can be deeply personal. So it was for Faith Emeny Conger ’50 and Clara Taplin Rankin ’34. The two share a commitment to enriching the lives of others, and their generosity has provided a permanent and stable source of funding for HB’s Center for Global Citizenship. For Faith Emeny Conger, a love of travel and the memory of her father inspired her to create a named fund to support international study, cultural exchange, and foreign travel through the Center for Global Citizenship. Her father, Dr. Brooks Emeny, was the President of the Cleveland Council on World Affairs until 1947, and then led the Foreign Policy Association in New York City. In the early 1950s, Faith and her father traveled together to Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East. Marrying Richard S. Conger and having four children strengthened her love for travel. She home-schooled her children while taking them on a one-year adventure to 30 countries. Today, Faith continues to be a skilled educator who aims to “bring light into the darkness” by teaching yoga in her home studio.
Clara Taplin Rankin also embodies the spirit of philanthropy. She has been a generous, enthusiastic, and loyal supporter of HB for many years and was named a Distinguished Alumna in 1999. Her recent gift of an endowment to support the position of Director for the Global Citizenship Program honors her own commitment to education and excellence in teaching. Clara has devoted her life to music and the arts and to serving institutions that enrich and ennoble the human spirit through the arts. She is the founder of Hopewell Farm, Ohio’s only therapeutic farm community for adults with severe mental illness. Married to Alfred M. Rankin, Clara is the mother of five sons who began their education at HB, attending Pre-K and Kindergarten. Several of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren are now attending and have attended HB as well. The Center for Global Citizenship was established to promote global understanding and citizenship, foster a deep appreciation for the cultures of the world, challenge students to think critically about the world’s most pressing global issues, and help students understand how the United States fits into a global context. Through their generosity, both Faith and Clara will forever be linked to HB’s Center for Global Citizenship and the boundary-stretching experiences that inspire girls to explore the world and their role in it.