Dear Colleagues,
I hope your spring semester is off to a great start. I write to share some exciting news that will have a lasting impact on our university community and beyond. The Samueli Foundation has made a generous $1.85 million gift to launch the Or Initiative, an innovative program dedicated to equipping students with the skills to engage in thoughtful, nuanced conversations. Led by Dr. Vikki Katz, Professor in the School of Communication and the Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair in Free Speech, this initiative will provide students with the tools to navigate complex discussions with intellectual depth, historical understanding, and empathy.
This gift reinforces Chapman’s dedication to free speech, viewpoint diversity, and academic inquiry. The Or Initiative will play a vital role in expanding our leadership in fostering intellectual curiosity and meaningful, civil discourse. By developing educator training, digital literacy resources, and semester-long curricula for middle school, high school, and college students, this initiative will ensure that students are prepared to thoughtfully engage with today’s most pressing issues.
This latest Samueli Foundation gift follows their recent $3 million endowment for Chapman’s annual Holocaust Art & Writing Contest. For 25 years, this contest has connected young learners with Holocaust survivors, growing from a local event to an international program with more than 7,000 participants annually and over 150,000 participants in total. These two commitments are deeply connected—one preserving the lessons of the past, the other cultivating thoughtful dialogue for the future.
Thanks to this generous support and the dedication of our Chapman community, we continue to make incredible strides in the Inspire Campaign. With more than $402 million raised, we are enhancing our ability to serve and empower our students and the greater community through education and opportunity.
Thank you for all that you do to inspire our supporters and help Chapman lead in this important area.