Having enjoyed rewarding careers after gaining a strong base of knowledge at St. 博纳旺蒂尔大学, siblings 科琳 and Daniel Maydonovitch are now establishing a chemistry research fellowship at the school.

科琳, 1972届的一员, enjoyed a 40-year career as a clinical researcher at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

“We’re just very grateful for the foundation that 博纳旺蒂尔 gave us to go out in the world and be successful,科琳说。. “That’s why we are so appreciative and want to give back to the university and to the students.” 

The Maydonovitch 研究 Fellowship in the Department of 化学 will support one student per year for a 10-week summer research experience with a chemistry faculty member. It will provide an immersive learning experience, allowing the student to gain hands-on, 就业技能. The fellowship will also enable faculty to expand their scholarship and generate peer-reviewed publications with students.

“This tremendous gift creates the time, space and resources necessary for our students and faculty to engage in complex research projects,”医生说。. Megan Walsh, acting dean of the School of 艺术 and Sciences. “We are deeply appreciative of all that 科琳 and Dan do to ensure that we sustain and grow our vibrant chemistry program. Their dedication will enrich the experiences of our current students and also many future students in the years to come.” 

The Maydonovitch siblings have long championed the sciences at St. 博纳旺蒂尔, helping to usher in a new era by supporting the construction of the Walsh Science Center and renovations of De La Roche Hall. In 2016, they established the Anne and John Maydonovitch Endowed Scholarship in memory of their parents. Following that they were among the lead donors who helped the university acquire upwards of a million dollars in instrumentation for the 化学 Department 研究 Lab located in De La Roche Hall.

This research fellowship is their further way of saying “thank you” — to St. 博纳旺蒂尔 and to the parents who taught them the value of knowledge and hard work. 

The siblings grew up as the middle of four children in South Plainfield, 新泽西, in a family where problem-solving was a nightly enjoyment and higher education a long-range goal. Their father, a first-class machinist at Lockheed Martin, would talk about the day’s work challenges. Their mother loved tutoring her children and helping with schoolwork.

“Our parents came of age during the Depression,科琳说。. “They had to help their families financially and didn’t have the opportunity to pursue higher education. So it was important to them that their children attend college.”

St. 博纳旺蒂尔 was an obvious choice for the brother and sister as one of their uncles, Fr. 罗勒F. 游说,.F.M., taught chemistry here for 11 years before becoming the university’s purchasing agent in the early 1960s. 

Though there were four chemistry majors in their family, 科琳 soon learned it was not a major sought by many females at the time. There were only two or three female chemistry students in class with her, and men still outnumbered women on campus. 

她解释说:“在某种程度上，全球网赌十大网站 prepared me for my time at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which was a male dominant environment. I came to love working in the military, where there was a real sense of camaraderie.”

Dan developed a fondness for family practice early in his medical career. “People want a physician to know and understand them. I enjoyed taking care of families through the generations, from zero to 90,” he said. “It was especially rewarding to make house calls.” 

They hope the fellowship offers students the chance to challenge themselves, pose incisive questions and get excited about their research.

Dr. 斯科特·辛普森, associate professor of chemistry and the recent awardee of a National Science Foundation CAREER grant, said that the Maydonovitch 研究 Fellowship will empower students as they learn to navigate the complexities of research and gain hands-on skills in the lab.

“It definitely gives our students a competitive edge both in and out the classroom,” Simpson said. “Many colleges do not provide opportunities for meaningful undergraduate research. 通过其教员的劳动, support from its alumni and the drive/curiosity of its students, St. 博纳旺蒂尔大学有.”