The Ethel Tremaine Robinson Foundation, Inc. was created in 2005 as a way for Black Brown Alums to stay connected to Brown University through philanthropy. Though there was a great deal of support for the organization, there were also those that felt that such an organization would dilute Black Alumni giving to the University. Three years later, nothing could be further from the truth. Rather than diminish African American Alumni giving, the Ethel Tremaine Robinson Foundation, Inc. has helped enhance it. One need only look at the 2008 numbers of Brown's Alumni Of Color Initiative: and as the Alumni of Color Initiative continues to gain steam, so has the Ethel Tremaine Robinson Foundation, Inc. In fact 2008 was Ethel Robinson's best year, as it played a hand in sending six students to three of Brown's Summer programs. This brings Ethel Robinson's three year tally to thirteen students, with well over 100 Alumni donors to bring hard resources to our communities.
We all are aware of the dearth of educational and economic opportunities in our inner cities. The issues need to be addressed at all levels and not solely at the collegiate level. By focusing on using Brown to bring educational opportunities to African American young people before they are of college age, the Ethel Tremaine Robinson Foundation, Inc. has carved out a unique niche on campus. Our largest alumni-funded grant is the Marie Moses grant, named after the late Marie Moses '82. This grant sends Middle School students from urban areas to Brown's SPARK program. In addition to the Marie Moses grant there is the Doug Terry grant, which focuses on sending African American high school students to Brown's Scholar-Athlete program. Both grants have been extremely successful, and if that was all Ethel Robinson had done, it would be a lot.
But the more good you do, the more good comes to you, and in 2008, because of the Ethel Robinson Foundation's relationship with Dr. Jennifer Aizenman and Brown's Office of Summer and Continuing Studies Department, Ethel Robinson and IPC-NY worked with Brown University's Neuroscience Professor Carlos Aizenman to create the Brown University Neuroscience Fellowship. This program teaches two inner-city high school students the field of Neuroscience over the course of five weeks in the summer and provides the students with a $500 stipend. The program will run for five years.
Though some may not think so, this is truly an amazing feat. The grant itself is worth $150,000 per year, with approximately $30,000 being spent on the high school students’ educational experience per year. Our work with the Neuroscience Fellowship represents a model that can be replicated with different Professors, different fields of study and different Black communities throughout the country. This cannot be understated.
Now none of us would be presumptuous and say that some of us are doing more than others. The fact is that everybody does what they can. However, collectively, as Black People are we satisfied with the condition of our communities? If some of us are, then hey, that's terrific. But for those that aren't, then consider this: large Universities like Brown have an abundance of resources that can be channeled into our communities, and are willing to channel some of these resources where they can. Because of the spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and financial support of concerned Alumni and Friends, not only can we say that Ethel Robinson is a success, but we can also say that it is an organization that is at the cutting edge of how Black Brown Alumni can leverage their relationship with the University to help channel some of those hard resources into our communities.
The encouraging part is that all that the Ethel Tremaine Robinson Foundation, Inc has done, has been with less than five percent of Black Alumni participation. Imagine if even 10 or 20 percent of Black Alumni throughout the country put their heads together to create more University/Community partnerships? At a minimum we could bring significant educational opportunities to many of our young people nationally; at a maximum, the sky is the limit. In this age of Obama, we should accept nothing less.