Chatham receives grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to aid campus COVID-19 efforts

Chatham University has received a generous grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to assist the university in operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Our regional colleges and universities are essential engines for growth - for the students who learn there, the people who work there, and for the local communities whose economies we know they so powerfully impact,” said Foundation Director Sam Reiman. “We want to be there for them now, at this critical hour, as they navigate the complex logistics of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The $210,000 grant helped fund COVID-19 on-campus testing, new equipment for de-densifying classrooms and campus buildings, and expanded capabilities for virtual class offerings for the 2020-2021 academic year. 

Founded in 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation is the largest foundation in southwestern Pennsylvania. The Foundation’s 2019 endowment was $2.7 billion and its Trustees in 2019 awarded 172 grants totaling $129 million, focused on the Foundation’s strategic priorities: economic development, education, environmental conservation, and human services.