William Jewell College has announced a major gift of $3.8 million from The Hall Family Foundation to further enhance Oxbridge and other academic programs at the College.

The Oxbridge Honors Program was established with a gift from the Foundation in 1982, and is an American adaptation of the tutorial styles of learning employed at Oxford and Cambridge universities. It features individual and small group instruction by gifted professors, extensive reading in primary sources, weekly essays and major papers and comprehensive examinations. One year of study is in the university communities of Oxford or Cambridge. “Oxbridge may be the best honors program in the United States,” according to George Dehne, president of Dehne & Associates, a nationally recognized higher education consulting firm.

The gift by the philanthropic foundation to Jewell has been pledged over a period of three years to underwrite programs and operations. It designates: l $1.5 million to fund an endowed chair for the Oxbridge Senior Tutor l $750,000 to fund an endowed chair for an Oxbridge professor l $750,000 in endowment funds to promote academic enrichment among talented Jewell students l $600,000 in operational support l $210,000 in Oxbridge scholarship funds l $75,000 ($25,000 per year for three years) to fund a distinguished visiting professor program.

“We owe a great debt of gratitude to the Hall Family Foundation which has historically provided significant funding that has assisted William Jewell in achieving new levels of academic excellence and national recognition,” said Dr. David Sallee, president of William Jewell College. “This gift will help Jewell continue its proud tradition of graduating students who are well prepared to face the challenges of an increasingly complex global society, and whose abilities and contributions enhance the quality of life for the entire Kansas City metropolitan area,” he concluded.

“The endowment funding provided by the Hall Family Foundation will allow us to continue to attract and retain excellent faculty members, who are the cornerstone of the Oxbridge experience, allowing us to strengthen an already great college,” said Dr. Chad Jolly, vice president for advancement at the College.

“The Hall Family Foundation gift is a significant affirmation of the quality of the Oxbridge experience and of the caliber of the graduates who have excelled in this rigorous academic honors program, over the past 20 years,” added Dr. D. Dean Dunham, Jr., a veteran Jewell faculty member who was recently named Senior Tutor for the Oxbridge program.

The Hall Family Foundation gift includes funding that will allow gifted students to participate in summer research and academic enhancement opportunities such as writers’ workshops and intensive research experiences that would not otherwise be available to them. “Students often have to by-pass such opportunities because of the more urgent need to earn money to pay for College,” Dr. Sallee said. “This funding will allow students to participate in enriching experiences that might not otherwise be possible.”

Jewell’s Oxbridge Honors Program, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2002, continues to provide outstanding graduates who contribute to the quality of life in their communities. “Oxbridge offers the best of both worlds–the small-college, liberal arts education with the rigors of an Ivy League school, and the opportunity to spend a year at one of the Hall Family Foundation gift supports academic excellence at Jewell.