Three weeks into her new job as president of the University, Susan Herbst and her husband, Douglas Hughes, have announced a gift of $100,000 to the University of Connecticut Foundation to establish a scholarship for needy students as part of the University’s capital campaign, Our University. Our Moment. The Campaign for UConn. With this gift, she hopes to underscore the critical nature of philanthropy to the future of public higher education.

“Doug and I join so many generous UConn donors in support of students who cannot afford to attend the University without significant help,” said Herbst. “In these difficult times, UConn desperately needs increased private funding of student scholarships, faculty research, and building projects in order to become the top flagship university the state of Connecticut and its citizens deserve.”

“I’m overwhelmed,” said Larry McHugh, chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees. “That’s a tremendous commitment for President Herbst to make to the University; it just reinforces the fact that we made a wise choice in hiring her. This is a great message to get out to all of UConn’s supporters and the state of Connecticut.”

To be eligible for the new scholarship – the Susan Herbst and Douglas Hughes Family Scholarship in the Humanities – students must be enrolled or intend to enroll in the University’s School of Fine Arts or College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, demonstrating both academic achievement and need. Herbst and her husband believe that the arts and humanities are central to the nation’s future.

“Now, more than ever, we need our young people to ask the big questions – about justice, morality, beauty, and happiness, to guide daily life,” said Herbst. “The humanities inspire us, and help us to figure out what truly matters.”