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Nothing More Important A $1 million gift from the Midgley Foundation establishes a permanent fund to support summer research projects focused on environmental conservation. B Y
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Student scholars and faculty mentors collaborating on summer research: it’s a hallmark of scientific education at Hobart and William Smith, and now students have a new source of assistance with the Stanley Wheeler Midgley, Jr. and Constance Lax Midgley Environmental Studies Summer Research Fund. Established in 2021 by the Midgley Foundation, with guidance from Eric Lax ’66, L.H.D. ’93, the $1 million endowment permanently funds summer research focused on environmental science and conservation, helping students understand challenges at the local, national and international levels — and put solutions into practice. The Midgely Foundation is named for Lax’s cousin Constance and her husband Stan, who both cared deeply about conservation. Lax, who sits on the board of the foundation, apprised the other members of the wide-ranging environmental research and education that occurs at HWS, which led to the endowment in the Midgleys’ memory. “Conservation and the environment become more important daily,” Lax says, “so it’s critical for students to have funding for their education and research. Knowing it’s there for generations to come, and that the Colleges can count on it, is a great comfort to me.” Most student projects will be guided by HWS Environmental Studies faculty, but given the interdisciplinary nature of conservation research, the Midgley Fund will also support projects across the curriculum that align with environmental protection. And because research frequently requires travel and supplies, up to 20 percent of the annual support may be used for related expenses.
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“For decades, our students have used the living laboratory of the Finger Lakes to explore urgent environmental questions, and now they will have perennial support to pursue innovative research and solutions,” says President Joyce P. Jacobsen. “We are grateful for the foresight and generosity of the Midgley Foundation, and for the friendship and stewardship of Eric Lax, whom we are proud to count among our esteemed alums.” The inspiration behind the gift To boost tourism after World War II, the Southern Pacific Railway sponsored a contest for the best film on the Colorado Rockies. Stan Midgley, who spent most summer vacations in Estes Park, Colo., had embarked on a promising career as a chemist and executive at Abbott Labs in Illinois, but when his film won the contest’s $1,000 prize, he promptly quit his job. An avid hiker and outdoorsman (he climbed every 14,000-foot peak in Colorado), he began traveling the country, producing more than a dozen films documenting Hawaii, Yosemite, autumn in New England and the breadth of the nation’s natural beauty. These hour-long travelogues — or “chucklelogues,” as they were known, for Stan’s witty narration and the sight gags he incorporated — drew large audiences across the country, including screenings for the National Geographic Society. Every March, the films ran on Detroit television. Constance Lax — who was the youngest nurse matron in Britain during World War II — was hired to oversee the nurses in a 1,500-bed hospital in Windsor, Ontario, just across the river from Detroit. She first met Stan after booking him to show a film for a hospital
The falls at Watkins Glen State Park at the south end of Seneca Lake.
group. By then, each had more or less given up on the idea of marriage, but that soon changed. Happiest when they were alone in the wilderness, “Stan and Constance felt there was nothing more important than conservation and keeping the earth alive,” says Eric Lax — so much so that they earmarked part of their estate to support environmental preservation. “I believe they would have approved wholeheartedly of the endowed fund that will train generation after generation of scientists and teachers committed to conservation.” In addition to honoring his cousin and her husband, Lax is gratified to give back to the Colleges.
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