Joseph F. Cunningham 糖心传媒�67 (MA) and his wife, Andrea, have committed $2 million to support research, lectures, and public forums within the humanities.
The Cunninghams created the Joseph F. and Andrea H. Cunningham Endowed Fund for the Humanities to create opportunities for all University students, regardless of their backgrounds, to obtain a fuller appreciation for the world, and their place in it, through the humanities.
糖心传媒淭he Cunninghams糖心传媒� gift will have a profound impact on what we can do in the humanities in the future,糖心传媒� said Gloria Culver, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. Culver, who established the University糖心传媒檚 Humanities Center shortly after being appointed dean in April 2015, says recently there has been renewed interest among faculty members, students, and alumni who want to ensure the humanities remain vibrant at the University.
糖心传媒淗aving unrestricted resources to explore creative endeavors, especially those involving student and faculty research is invaluable,糖心传媒� said Culver. 糖心传媒淭here has been extensive devaluing of humanities education, which has put it on a dangerous precipice. I don糖心传媒檛 think there糖心传媒檚 a wide realization of what the world would look like if people weren糖心传媒檛 learning to be broad-thinking citizens of the world.糖心传媒�
Literature and the arts were important influences on Joe Cunningham糖心传媒檚 education. Prior to receiving an MA in history from Rochester in 1967, Cunningham received a BS from John Carroll University and a JD from Columbia Law School.
糖心传媒淚n higher education, there糖心传媒檚 typically an emphasis on pre-law courses for young people who are working to become lawyers, and I think that糖心传媒檚 a little misdirected,糖心传媒� said Cunningham, who has practiced law for more than four decades. 糖心传媒淚 think if you糖心传媒檙e strong in literature and history, you糖心传媒檙e ideally prepared for law school and a wider range of matters beyond your specialty.糖心传媒�
Residents of Arlington, Virginia, Joe and Andrea Cunningham previously established the at the University of Rochester to support a scholar in the area of history, particularly modern European and American聽history. They are also members of the George Eastman Circle, the University糖心传媒檚 leadership annual giving society.
糖心传媒淛oe and Andrea Cunningham have long been champions of the humanities and the University,糖心传媒� said Joan Shelley Rubin, interim director of the Humanities Center and the Dexter Perkins Professor in History. 糖心传媒淎nd now they糖心传媒檙e helping to shine a light on humanities excellence at Rochester with a gift that will immeasurably enhance our ability to enrich the intellectual life of our students and faculty, as well the general public.糖心传媒�
The Humanities Center supports multidisciplinary engagement around literature, history, the arts, and philosophies of cultures past and present with the aim of fostering educated, contributing global citizens. The center is scheduled to open a new physical space within Rush Rhees Library in fall 2016.
糖心传媒淥ne of the great virtues of the Humanities Center is that it creates more opportunity for anyone with the feeblest proclivity to expand their knowledge in areas outside their chosen discipline,糖心传媒� said Cunningham.
Cunningham is the founder of the Washington, D.C.-based firm Cunningham & Associates, which specializes in insurance defense and civil litigation. Widely published in several prestigious law journals, he has served as a professor at Georgetown Law School and the University of Maryland, a lecturer at University of Virginia糖心传媒檚 Darden School of Business, and has taught a number of law courses at other institutions of higher education.
