Green gifts that keep giving

Green philanthropy, like all gifting, is generally motivated by the sincere wish to return some measure of value, to assist a favorite cause or endeavor. This week such a gift came to Connecticut College in the form of an endowment of $1-million to the private liberal arts college, made by Karla Heurich Harrison, 98, daughter of the late beer magnate Christian Heurich. Mrs. Harrison granted the fund to her alma mater to support the work of the Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies, an environmental studies program that is among the oldest in the nation.

Heurich graduated from Connecticut College in 1928 and went on to earn a masters in zoology from George Washington University in Washington D.C. She worked for a while at the U.S. Department of Agriculture before marrying Charles King who was killed in Normandy, France during World War II.

A lifelong conservationist and environmentalist, Mrs. Heurich presently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida where she supports various local charities and enjoys indulging in another passion, ornithology.

The College launched its environmental studies program in 1969. Robert Askins is the current Director of the program, the position will now be named the Karla Heurich Harrison Directorship. Each year the Goodwin-Niering Center advances research, education, and curriculum development aimed at understanding contemporary ecological challenges.

by Harlan Weikle
Greener Magazine