A US$ 10 Million Grant from Mrs Kathryn Davis

Article published in Globe N° 3 | Spring 2009

Mrs Kathryn Davis has just celebrated her 102nd birthday. Our former student – she obtained her Ph.D. from the Institute in 1934, in the same year as her late husband, Shelby Cullom Davis, former United States Ambassador to Switzerland from 1969 to 1975 – displays impressive vitality and vivaciousness. Overflowing with energy, an independent spirit, with a mischievous glint in her eye and the very embodiment of kindness, Mrs Davis is always true to form and makes an impression on all those who meet her.

Imbued with a curiosity about what is going on in the world, she loves to travel and form her own opinions. Eighteen months ago she went to China and spent several weeks travelling around the country. Mindful of the evolution of public affairs in the United States, she is deeply concerned by the current crisis, which is reminiscent of another crisis which she lived through in the 1930s. It is fair to say that the quest for peace has always been her primary concern and a major inspiration for her philanthropic activities. Ever the internationalist, Mrs Davis lends her support to many efforts which promote greater knowledge and understanding among peoples and cultures. She has passed on this vision to her children, Diana and Shelby, both of whom are also active philanthropists – Shelby founded the “Davis United World College Scholars Programme” which, this year, will fund more than 400 grants to assist foreign students attending North American universities.

Mrs Davis has maintained an attachment to the Institute which she has expressed in different ways over the last few years. Each year since 2007 she has financed four new doctoral scholarships, each for a duration of four years. In accordance with her wishes, two of these scholarships are given to a male and a female student from an American university, and the remaining two are given to a male and a female student from a Muslim country. Since 2007, the year of her one hundredth birthday, she has donated one million dollars to support the “100 Projects for Peace” programme which she founded and to which she wished to associate the Institute.

She takes an active interest in developments within the Institute, especially its campus development project, which she chose to support last year through a matching grant of US$ 10 million. Her gesture impressed the other patrons we approached and provided positive encouragement. We are now reaping the fruits of this and plan to express our gratitude by naming the library of the Maison de la paix after her and her late husband. Mrs Davis’ planned visit to Geneva later this year will provide us with an opportunity to celebrate her in a fitting and much-deserved manner.

Philippe Burrin
Translation by Katharine Mann