On Thursday, Nov. 5 at the Keller Family Venture Grant Forum, Jeff and David Keller announced an annual multi-million dollar commitment to the Keller Family Venture Grant Program for individual student research.
The $4 million commitment includes $3 million to permanently endow the program, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
The additional funding available as a result of the Keller’s $3 million endowment gift will not only ensure that the program continues, it also will support an additional 20 grants annually. Many student projects require funding beyond the grant’s current $1,000 per-project award; the gift allows the college to award additional funds up to $500 for as many 72 Venture Grant projects annually.
“The Kellers’ steadfast commitment to the Venture Grant Program has benefitted more than 1,000 students throughout the past decade,” said Tiefenthaler. “Their impact on Colorado College is already immeasurable. Their most recent gift—and the possibilities it holds for our students—is extraordinary.”
“We have seen firsthand how students with Venture Grants are able to create and pursue their own research projects,” Jeff and David Keller said. “And, in the process, they enrich their educational experience while building self-reliance and self-confidence.”
By providing funding for Venture Grant experiences, the Kellers strive to support the College’s effort to provide research opportunities for students to explore a topic in depth outside of the classroom environment.
Since founding the program, the Kellers have been rewarded with positive student feedback.
“Interacting with students who receive these grants has been incredibly rewarding for our family,” said Keller. “We are excited to see where students go and what they accomplish over the next decade.”
Keller Venture Grants allow students to imagine, articulate, and bring to life their own original research project. The Keller Venture Grant program funded $98,379 and $121,750 to 109 and 134 CC students in the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 academic years, respectively, for individual research projects on campus, across the United States, and around the world.
During 2014-15, Keller Family Venture Grants took Colorado College students to five continents and 13 countries. Some of these destinations included Japan, Ireland, Costa Rica, the Ozarks, Arizona, California, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, China, Colorado, Canada, Peru, Massachusetts, Scotland, Germany, Bolivia and Thailand.
While celebrating its 10th anniversary this year during an annual forum, several students delivered presentations on their experiences.
Junior Anna Cain, an English major studied James Joyce’s “Ulysses” and its ongoing impact on Ireland. She used funds from her Venture Grant to travel to Dublin to research the commercialism that has developed from the book.
“It began as just seeing how Ireland was honoring its legacy; then I was finding lots of industries whose entire business models were based on their connection to ‘Ulysses,’” she said.
During the forum, senior Soren Fryholm presented “Going the Distance: The Effects of Travel on Team” about a film he made of the men’s soccer team’s trip to Europe.
Junior Nina Friedman, took off a semester to intern at a startup called EyeWire. EyeWire is part of the citizen science movement where anyone can collect data for research. EyeWire gamified the process of brain mapping, and now gamers help gather neuronal projection data.
As proven by these student accounts, this commitment by the Kellers will ensure that unprecedented research by students can continue well into the future.
“During the past 10 years, Venture Grants have become a defining characteristic of a Colorado College education, and this generous commitment by the Kellers will ensure that the college continues to grow, support and fund these highly valuable student experiences,” said Tiefenthaler.
Jeff Keller, who graduated in 1991, serves on the college’s Board of Trustees. His brother, David Keller, is a 1995 alumnus. They were joined at the forum by their brother, Temp Keller, and their parents Connie and Dennis Keller.