WAMC Receives $100,000 Grant from Newman's Own Foundation

ALBANY, NY (08/30/2010)(readMedia)-- WAMC Northeast Public Radio is pleased to announce that it has received a grant of $100,000 from Newman's Own Foundation in support of its popular new segment, The Academic Minute, which launched July 6 and airs each weekday at 7:37 a.m. and 3:56 p.m.

Featuring professors from top institutions across the country, The Academic Minute allows leading experts to explain their research and discoveries in a variety of fields to an engaged listening audience. It is hosted by Mount Holyoke President Dr. Lynn Pasquerella.

"WAMC is incredibly flattered by this major grant from Newman's Own Foundation," says WAMC President and CEO Dr. Alan Chartock, himself professor emeritus at the University at Albany. "We are looking forward to taking The Academic Minute to the next level, which means attracting the highest caliber guests and reaching a national audience."

A prominent medical ethicist whose voice has also been heard on WAMC's The Health Show, Pasquerella is a philosophy professor and Mount Holyoke graduate who previously served as provost at the University of Hartford. She introduces each day's professor to open the segment.

"The Academic Minute promotes participatory democracy and civic engagement by making cutting-edge academic issues accessible to everyone through public radio," Pasquerella says. "We are proud to have received a grant from Newman's Own Foundation in support of these values."

Since its launch, The Academic Minute has spotlighted professors from various colleges and universities, including but not limited to: Columbia, Williams, UConn, Skidmore, Duke, RPI, Mount Holyoke, Western New England College, Lock Haven, Monmouth, Hamilton, Middlebury, St. Michael's, Hartwick, Hampshire, Vassar, Western Connecticut, Amherst, Springfield, and the University at Albany.

Segments are archived on WAMC's dedicated webpage, http://www.wamc.org/academic-minute.html, where additional information about professors' research, background and publications is linked.

About Mount Holyoke College

Founded in 1837, and the first of the Seven Sisters - the female equivalent of the once predominantly male Ivy League - Mount Holyoke was the model upon which many other women's colleges were patterned. Throughout its long history, the College has been known for brilliant teaching and academic excellence, and it has a longstanding record as one of the most successful producers of women in the sciences in all of U.S. higher education. In recent years, the school has radically expanded its international reach, and now features the most internationally diverse student body of any American college of its kind.

About WAMC

WAMC Northeast Public Radio broadcasts 24 hours a day with information and cultural programming from stations reaching parts of seven Northeastern states. WAMC is an award-winning producer of regionally based programming. WAMC is a member station of National Public Radio and is affiliated with Public Radio International and American Public Media. http://www.wamc.org/

WAMC-FM 90.3 FM, Albany; WAMC, 1400 AM, Albany; WAMK 90.9 FM, Kingston; WOSR, 91.7 FM, Middletown; WCEL, 91.9 FM, Plattsburgh; WCAN, 93.3 FM, Canajoharie; WANC, 103.9 FM, Ticonderoga; WRUN, 90.3 FM, Remsen-Utica; WAMQ 105.1 FM, Great Barrington, MA; 93.1 FM, Troy; 99.3 FM, Oneonta; 97.1 FM, Hudson; 107.1 FM, Warwick; 107.7 FM, Newburgh; 103.9 FM, Beacon; 96.5 FM, Ellenville; 106.9, Middletown; 102.1, Highland, NY and 90.9 FM, Milford, PA.; 97.3 FM, Cooperstown and on-line at http://www.wamc.org/.

About Newman's Own Foundation

Paul Newman was committed to helping make the world a better place. To carry on his philanthropic legacy, Newman's Own Foundation donates all net royalties and profits after taxes from the sale of Newman's Own products to charity. To date, Paul Newman and Newman's Own Foundation have given over $295 million to thousands of charities around the world. For more information, visit www.newmansownfoundation.org.