It’s a very good beginning….
The 2025-26 year for ARCS® Atlanta is off to a very exciting start! Just as many anticipate the start of a new school year with great excitement, our chapter looks forward to the Scholar Awards Celebration and recognizing our new scholars on November 12th.
Stoking the fire of our excitement is the news that this Fall our chapter will award almost $460,000 to 53 of the highest achieving scholars at our academic partner institutions: Emory University, Georgia Tech, Morehouse College and University of Georgia. The amount of these awards includes an across-the-board 20% increase—an increase that comes during a time when many scholars are less certain about funding for their programs.
This year’s award increases are possible because of the constant commitment of many ARCS Atlanta members, but in particular the leadership of the members of our Funds Development Committee. This group of women have nurtured relationships with many donors—new and long-term—educating them and reinforcing our mission to support academically outstanding STEM scholars in the US -- Standing Strong With Science.
And then there’s the excitement around the honor in our community! In recognition of our chapter’s dedication to STEM, ARCS Atlanta was presented The Golden Helix Award for Community Service by Georgia Life Sciences at their 2025 Summit. This GLS Summit provided our organization the platform to tell our story, introduce our mission and educate people from across the US about our 33-year history in providing unrestricted awards to Georgia scholars. Many thanks to our member, Nancy Chambers for advocating for our organization to receive this award.
And there’s excitement within our leadership… almost a quarter of the 2025-26 Board of Directors are serving their first term on our Board, bringing fresh ideas and insights to our chapter. There is a wealth of experience among our Board members, and ARCS Atlanta is the beneficiary of these remarkable women who give so unselfishly to our volunteer organization.
We are happy to welcome new members Suzette Brading, Barbara Crum and Andrea Montag this year and look forward to their many talents and contributions to our chapter.
At a time when uncertainty in the academic fields is so prevalent and as research dollars have been retracted or removed from colleges and universities, ARCS Atlanta has risen to the challenge and demonstrated how we Stand Strong with Science, Now More than Ever…and that IS exciting!
- Frances
