$10 million gift to Divinity School
Harvard University announced Wednesday that Susan Shallcross Swartz, an artist and social and environmental activist, and her husband, James R. Swartz ’64, have donated $10 million to Harvard Divinity School (HDS). The gift will establish the Susan Shallcross Swartz Endowment for Christian Studies, which will fund new professorships and support fellowships and programming in the classroom and in the field. Harvard President Drew Faust praised the Swartzes for supporting not only HDS but also the broader University community. “The Divinity School plays a key role in the work and mission of the wider University,” said Faust, “and Susan and Jim’s gift — one of the largest in HDS’s nearly 200-year history — helps solidify the study of religion’s place at Harvard. We are most grateful.” Swartz, an American landscape painter whose work explores the intersection of spirituality and art, became involved with HDS in 2005, when she was invited to become the...