Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Scholarship

Clare Boothe Luce, the widow of Henry R. Luce, was a playwright, journalist, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, and the first woman elected to Congress from Connecticut. In her bequest establishing this program, she sought “to encourage women to enter, study, graduate, and teach” in science, mathematics and engineering. Thus far, the program has supported more than 2,900 women.

Celebrating the Accomplishments of Women in STEM at Stonehill

Over the past few years, Stonehill has worked to maintain our commitment to STEM education, while also continuing our commitment to the liberal arts—preparing STEM students who are critical thinkers with the technical training to be superb scientists and lifelong learners.

The future of STEM education at Stonehill is bright with a new four-year engineering degree program, the addition of integrated photonics and data science majors, a new computer science lab, and new programs in electrical, computer, and optical/laser/photonics engineering.

Defying national statistics, Stonehill women are well-represented in mathematics and physical sciences, and their rate of service as teaching assistants to faculty members in STEM fields equals or surpasses their representation in the general student body.

Stonehill’s Clare Boothe Luce Scholarships gave our past CBL scholars a competitive edge when applying to undergraduate research programs and internship opportunities. This resulted in a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) for four scholars,  a N.A.S.A. internship for another, and one Clare Boothe Luce scholar received a prestigious National Science Foundation Fellowship for graduate school. Furthermore, publicity (press releases, magazine articles, newsletter announcements) highlighted the success of our CBL scholars and featured the strength of our STEM programs—encouraging bright and motivated students to enroll in STEM fields and boosting our recruitment efforts.

In recent years, Stonehill also has made significant advances in the recruitment and retention of talented female faculty members in STEM fields – adding full-time female faculty in mathematics, chemistry, and physics, as well as adjunct female faculty in computer science. Our female STEM professors have dynamic research and teaching skills, and provide critical opportunities for mentorship and support for STEM students.

Scholarship Award Overview

For the third time in Stonehill College’s history, we are a proud recipient of a scholarship grant from the Henry Luce Foundation’s Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Scholarship Program to encourage women “to enter, study, graduate, and teach” in scientific fields where there have been obstacles to their advancement. Stonehill received a CBL grant in 2002 for $101,244 grant and in 2013 for $300,000 grant. Our current grant, totaling $199,176, will fund four scholarships to two female students entering their junior years with declared majors in computer science, mathematics, chemistry and physics, or who are in Stonehill’s 3+2 dual degree engineering programs or the College’s new four-year engineering degree program. CBL Scholarships will be awarded selectively based on academic achievement for the 2022-2023 Academic Year and renewed in the 2023-2024 Academic Year.