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All gifts of any kind help secure the University’s place as a premier institution of learning and make it possible for our students, faculty, and researchers to shape a brighter future.
You can give to all 12 schools across Grounds. The possibilities are endless for supporting our students, faculty, and programs. Together, we will find the way forward.
You can join the growing number of alumni and friends who invest now in the University’s future by including UVA as a beneficiary of their wills, charitable trusts, and retirement plans. Gifts like these can offer you and your family significant tax benefits as well as greater financial flexibility in meeting your personal and philanthropic goals.
The Honor the Future campaign, the largest in University history, concluded in 2025, thanks to thousands of loyal supporters. Its impact on students, faculty, facilities, and research reaches across Charlottesville, Wise County, and Northern Virginia as it continues to advance the school in its third century of service to the commonwealth, nation, and world.
The School of Education and Human Development’s programs are ranked among the top in the country. Generous gifts made during the campaign are supporting our students, faculty, and key initiatives.
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The School of Education and Human Development is grateful to all of its donors who support the mission of the school and its students, faculty, and staff. Thanks to the generosity of dedicated alumni, parents, and friends, the school exceeded its Honor the Future campaign goal by 50%, raising over $150 million.
Student support increased in the form of scholarships, fellowships, and award funds across all departments and many degree programs. Eight new Bicentennial Scholarships and Fellowships were established, leveraging matching funds from the University’s Strategic Investment Fund. Countless other scholarship funds were established or received additional contributions from generous benefactors. Undergraduate research funds were also established to expand learning opportunities for students.
Five new Bicentennial Professorships in early childhood education, teacher education, autism, and neuroscience and education were created as well as a University Professorship in early childhood learning. In addition, the faculty excellence fund increased several-fold and seed grant funds for early career faculty research also grew. Faculty were incredibly productive in securing $61 million in funding for research and programs from private foundations—these contributions often supported student research as well.
The Tomorrow’s Teachers Fund launched in 2023, and in its first year supported more than 50 students with tuition and fees assistance as they pursued their path to becoming classroom teachers. Contributions for student programming, as well as for other initiatives across the School of Education and Human Development, resulted in enhanced teaching, research, and community outreach programs, improving the student experience and the school’s reputation.
Launching Teaching Careers
“To the benefactors of the Tomorrow’s Teachers Fund: I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your generous support.”
Kerry Baumann (Ed ’25)
To the benefactors of the Tomorrow’s Teachers Fund: I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your generous support. This award not only greatly reduces the financial burden associated with earning a master’s degree, but it also serves as a tremendous source of encouragement as I prepare for a career in elementary education. Thank you so much!
As you are aware, public school teachers are, unfortunately, often not paid what they deserve. Meanwhile, the costs of attending graduate school full time are steep. Because of your generosity, I’m able to focus on preparing to be an effective teacher for my future students without worrying about my ability to support myself financially after graduation.
I chose to become a teacher because the need for good teachers in public schools has never been greater. While an undergraduate student at William & Mary, I was fortunate to work directly with children through several volunteer and internship opportunities, which planted the teaching seed in me. However, it wasn’t until I had worked for several years in the social sector and witnessed the impact of COVID-19 on students and their families that I really felt called to the teaching profession. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to complete my teacher training at UVA and to learn from so many knowledgeable and experienced educators.
After earning my Master of Teaching degree in elementary education, my goal is to teach in a Title I public school somewhere in Virginia and continue to hone my professional skills so that I can provide the best possible education for my students. As I grow in my role as an educator, I’d also like to expand upon my undergraduate studies and prior work experience by advocating for policy changes that benefit my students and their families. This award provides a foundation of support and expands the opportunities available to me as I launch my career in teaching!
A True Gift for Good
“Attending school with minimum costs is a true blessing, and I cannot imagine where I would be without scholarship assistance.”
Kyndia Riley (Col ’20, Ed ’20) +
Kyndia Riley, who received a Heartwood Scholarship and a Viola Reavis Robinson Fellowship at UVA, was a first-generation college student and a mentor to students in Charlottesville schools. She was also an African American Teaching Fellow in 2020.
Her career plans in college included teaching and mentoring younger children who lack access to resources for quality care and a good education. Riley’s parents were both incarcerated and she struggled to pay for college on her own.
“Thank you is a complete understatement,” said Riley. “Attending school with minimum costs is a true blessing, and I cannot imagine where I would be without this assistance.”
The Heartwood Scholarship, made possible by a fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Richmond, provides annual support to a student who graduated from Northumberland High School in Heathsville, Virginia, and qualifies for financial assistance as determined by the University.
The Robinson Fellowship was established by Joseph F. Moore in honor of his beloved former teacher Viola Reavis Robinson (Ed ’76). Preference is given to a master of teaching student in good academic standing who is a native of Virginia.
Today, Riley is a kindergarten teacher at Maryland City Elementary School at Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland.
Innovative Approaches in Early Childhood Education
New Strategies for Preschool Behavior Management
Mandy Rispoli Quantitative Foundation Bicentennial Professor; Director, STAR Global Programs
If you take the right steps to improve communication, even challenging behavior can improve. Education researcher Mandy Rispoli has observed such progress as she develops new strategies to manage behavior of preschool children with disabilities.
“One in six children with autism is expelled from preschool in the United States,” she said.
That’s troubling.
Difficulty communicating can be expressed by difficult behavior, Rispoli explained. Her research includes using a tool she developed for training caretaker teams to translate what motivates the behavior, and helping the child learn better ways to communicate. Her goal is to keep students in class.
In addition, as part of STAR, Rispoli coleads two projects that help support children with autism and their families—one project in Kenya and the other in the U.S. The work relies on a community-based participatory action research approach in which the researchers co-create research questions and solutions with community members directly affected by the issues or phenomena they’re studying. It builds community support and accesses strategies to improve children’s social-communication skills and decrease challenging behaviors.
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Initiative Benefits Early Childhood Educators
Putting Wellness First
Lieny Jeon Batten Bicentennial Associate Professor (Early Childhood Education) +
Caring for those who care for and teach our children cannot be overlooked. Lieny Jeon is committed to developing ways to improve early childhood educators’ wellbeing by first identifiying and understanding the teachers’ stressors and motivations.
Jeon has created Wellbeing First, a program designed to build each teacher’s capacity to overcome feelings of disempowerment and regulate their emotions. It is also designed to help create a culture of wellbeing across the center. In addition to stress management toolkits and professional development, the program provides group processing time and monthly consulting.
When Jeon first reached out to teachers participating in her study that led to Wellbeing First she learned teachers’ needs are often disregarded.
“More than once, when I explain my study to recruit them, they began to cry,” Jeon said. “One told me that I was the first person to ask about their work and life.”
For example, Head Start teachers who work in high crime neighborhoods need extra support.
“These teachers are also regularly experiencing secondary trauma,” Jeon explained. “Because they tend to be deeply connected to their students and families, they carry significant levels of worry home with them that can often interrupt their sleep.”
Learning how educators’ wellbeing is related to children’s development and supporting the teachers are instrumental in helping both educators and the children they help.
Tomorrow’s Teachers Fund
A Pathway to Success for Future Teachers and the Public Good
Five Questions with Stephanie Rowley, Dean of the School of Education and Human Development
Multimedia tools created at the School of Education and Human Development improve learning for students with special needs.
Frackson Mumba is leading a multinational charge to transform science education.
Tomorrow’s Teachers Fund is poised to support 300 more education students.
Bicentennial Scholar and kinesiology major Brian Douglas fosters accessibility on Grounds.
Daphna Bassok, Batten Bicentennial Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education in the School of Education and Human Development.
A new scholarship at the School of Education and Human Development honors legendary professor Dan Duke.
