Clancy Herbst with Herbst Program faculty member Diane Sieber in 2009.
Clancy Herbst (ChemEngr'50) and Linda Vitti Herbst launched the Herbst Program with a generous endowment in 1989. They wanted engineering students to improve themselves through reading great texts and learning about the arts. The Program does not merely provide a break from engineering—it helps students put their professional goals into ethical and social contexts.
"Engineers can get so pigeon-holed and wrapped up in their work that they don't take time to read things that broaden their outlooks," Clancy said. That broader outlook, grounded in a sense of responsibility, is essential to ethical engineering.
Linda and Clancy have continued to support Herbst throughout the years. We are looking for new supporters of Clancy and Linda's vision. A gift of any size can contribute to the Program's general endowment or to its general expenses. If you would rather see your gift put to a specific cause, consider the following:
- Faculty salaries and benefits. This is our biggest expense. We don't have labs or expensive equipment; instead, we have talented, dedicated, and passionate faculty devoted to their students.
- Student tickets to cultural events. We try to take all of our first-year seminar students to the CU Opera. For many of the students, this is a first-time event: first opera, first classical music performance, first exposure to a venue like Macky Auditorium. When the scheduled opera is not a good fit, we try to find another CU event, whether symphonic music, dance, or theater. Students pay for a portion of their tickets, but Herbst picks up the remainder of the cost.
- Student travel. Herbst study abroad courses are exciting cultural adventures. Not every student can afford the extra expense of these courses, however. Recently, a long-time friend of the Herbst Program created an endowment whose annual distribution will help subsidize student travel. If you agree that travel can immeasurably enrich a student's life, please consider giving to this fund.
If you have other gift ideas, or if would like additional information on giving to Herbst Humanities, please contact our senior director of development at engineering@colorado.edu.