From the Chair
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Teagle Foundation, founded by Walter C. Teagle, American businessman, civic leader and philanthropist. The Foundation is focused on education and learning. All of its grants and investments are directed at improving access to higher education and the encouragement of a liberal arts education.
In 2018 Andrew Delbanco, a distinguished teacher and scholar of American literature and history at Columbia University, took over as President of the Foundation. In keeping with Teagle’s 75-year mission, the Foundation continues to work to support and strengthen liberal arts education, which we believe is fundamental and constructive to supporting meaningful work, effective citizenship, and a fulfilling life. President Delbanco, along with the Foundation’s capable staff, is carrying on with past successful efforts of the Foundation to advance student learning.
In this annual report there are a range of Foundation grants that we hope are transformative to the evolution of a liberal arts education. There are projects working to strengthen undergraduates’ knowledge of American democratic institutions, helping high school students prepare for a mind-opening liberal arts education in college, and ones that support students transferring from community college into four-year liberal arts institutions—and these are just a few of the current initiatives. All of these initiatives support our core commitment to support and strengthen liberal arts education.
The Foundation’s central focus on improving learning reflects the Founder’s desire to provide “educational advantage” to young people. This was Walter C. Teagle’s vision when he established the Foundation in 1944 and remains its key focus today.
As a Foundation, we look forward to our future efforts in which Teagle will continue to pursue its mission and will work to contribute to the educational health of colleges and universities in the United States.
I hope you’ll enjoy reading more about Teagle’s most recent work in this 2019 Annual Report.
Water C. Teagle III, Chair