Father's Legacy continued...

Zweibel turned her thoughts to funding young people's dreams. “I have been reading so much about how the cost of education is pricing so many people out of the market,” she said. “I'm very proud to be a faculty member here. I'm very proud of the education we can offer people. I want it to be as accessible as possible.”

She met with development staff at the UW Foundation and discovered a new initiative that would match her gift dollar for dollar if it went to support Great People Scholarships. The Foundation's board of directors has made a total of up to $20 million available to match such gifts.

“I am in two departments, astronomy and physics, and my father liked chemistry,” Zweibel said. “So my first thought was a scholarship for a student in one of those fields, but when it was explained that there was this match, I made no restrictions. That was just too good to pass up.”

Soon thereafter, Zweibel set up the first faculty-supported, need-based scholarship endowment as part of the “Great people. Great Place.” initiative.

“I didn't know whether the amount of money I was talking about would matter,” she said. “I didn't know if you needed half a million dollars to walk through the door. I was surprised to discover that a relatively modest amount of money can make a big difference. Would a $1,000 or $2,000 grant make a difference to a student, given that it's less than tuition? I'm sure now that it does.”

1. 1
2. 2