Support the Caltech Associates
Provost's Discretionary Fund
With the goal of emphasizing an opportunity that makes a measurable difference in areas critical to the responsibilities of Provost Tirrell—President’s Circle members Ginger and Kim Caldwell established the Associates Provost’s Discretionary Fund in 2019.
Their goal was, and is, to assure that the provost has access to resources readily available to act decisively in response to faculty priorities, nascent big ideas, and opportunities such as developing new scientific equipment or contributing the extra support necessary to successfully compete for top students, postdocs and faculty. Flexible funds enable Caltech to maintain its global forerunner position in science, engineering, and technology.
Just one demonstration of the impact of this Fund is in the work of Professor of Biology
Yuki Oka, TC Chen Institute Scholar and Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator, who received funds from the provost at a critical time that helped to further his breakthrough research on the molecular and neural mechanisms that help the human body to maintain a state of internal equilibrium.
With some of the world's leading researchers as part of your Caltech family, there is no
shortage of brilliant ideas. As Kim has said: "We want Caltech to be able to perform at its highest level of effectiveness. As a former executive, I'm well acquainted with the problem of wanting to do something but not having the funds soon enough to do it. Ginger and I don't want science to be slowed down by the turgid pace of budgeting and grant seeking."
To expand upon the significance of this fund, we continue to seek support from the Associates community towards the Provost's Fund. Members of the Associates have contributed over $330,000 to this Fund, including an additional $50,000 match gift from the Caldwells in early 2022.