DEPARTMENT OF GERMAN

Friedman-Kline-Foundation Gift

Thanks to a $250,000 gift from the Friedman-Kline Family Foundation, students in the German Department will have more opportunities to participate in experiential learning initiatives abroad. A primary beneficiary of this gift will be the highly successful Berlin: Global City in the Center of Europe Program, a Northwestern program which allows students a chance to study both German language and culture in the city of Berlin. Other study abroad opportunities are supported as well, such as an accredited Summer Study Abroad Program or a Summer Internship Program in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland. In addition to helping students defray costs of participating in the Berlin Summer Program and other study-abroad programs, the Friedman-Kline gift will help the department develop innovative classes that include research components in Hamburg and other German-speaking cities. 

Describing the purpose of their gift, Arthur and Suzanne Friedman emphasized the degree to which it will contribute to the educational mission of the University:

“We are pleased to make this gift to Northwestern University, which will create opportunities for more students to experience the benefit of studying in German-speaking countries. There is no better way to learn about other cultures than to be immersed in the culture itself. Finances are stretched for many students and this gift may help defray the additional costs associated with Northwestern’s amazing study-abroad programs.”

Adrian Randolph, Dean of the Weinberg, College of Arts and Sciences, said:

“I am thrilled by the support of the Friedman-Kline Family Foundation to foster Weinberg College’s global initiatives and specifically the study-abroad programs associated with the Department of German...Our interdisciplinary educational model depends upon students developing deep understandings of other languages and cultures. This gift opens up new possibilities for our faculty and students to live up to our highest ambitions when it comes to such meaningful cultural engagement.”