Campus & Community

Sherwood-Randall establishes fund for undergrad opportunities

4 min read

The Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES) at Harvard University recently announced the establishment of the Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall Fund. The fund will be used to expose Harvard undergraduates to European public affairs and encourage them to pursue international experiences that include Europe.

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall ’81 is currently a senior research scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University and a senior adviser to the Harvard-Stanford Preventive Defense Project. She is also adjunct senior fellow for alliance relations at the Council on Foreign Relations and a 2004 Carnegie Scholar. She served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia during the first Clinton administration (1994-1996) and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where she received her D.Phil. in international relations.

“During my undergraduate years at Harvard, the Center for European Studies and its luminous scholars inspired me to study Europe and to pursue a career that highlights the importance of transatlantic ties to American national security,” Sherwood-Randall recalled. “It is a privilege to continue my association with the center by supporting its efforts to engage future generations of Harvard students in understanding Europe and Europe’s role in international affairs.”

Under the close direction of Paul and Catherine Buttenwieser University Professor and CES’s first chairman Stanley Hoffmann, Sherwood-Randall’s early interests in Europe and in international affairs were developed at CES. Hoffmann, who supervised her senior honors thesis, said, “I naturally want to thank Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall for her generous contribution to the center. She has been a constant supporter of its activities, in addition to being my friend, ever since her days as a student at Harvard. She was one of my favorite students – a person whose intelligence, warmth, gifts of empathy and enthusiasm, and generosity are exceptional.”

The Center for European Studies was originally founded with an emphasis on the training of graduate students with a commitment to international affairs. This focus has recently grown to include efforts to encourage undergraduates to become educated about European affairs and pursue advanced studies in European-related subjects. Through new initiatives targeted at the undergraduate population, such as an undergraduate advisory board, improved grant systems for European research projects, and an expanded internship program, the Center for European Studies is seeking to broaden its involvement with the undergraduate community. The Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall Fund directly addresses this increased involvement and will allow for further expansion and development.

“This is truly the most gratifying kind of gift that a center can receive – it comes from someone who has had close ties to us since her years in the College and was the center’s first undergraduate affiliate,” expressed Patricia Craig, executive director of CES. “Not only does the fund acknowledge the profound impact CES has on students but it also will help ensure that we continue to provide outstanding opportunities for them to engage with big ideas and policymakers on the global stage. Liz Sherwood-Randall’s career is dedicated to international security policy and her gift highlights the importance of campus-based resources in internationalizing a Harvard education, particularly in the form of access to those whose actions are making an impact on the world,” said Craig.

David Blackbourn, the director of CES, added, “One of the major roles of the center is to make it possible for Harvard undergraduates to deepen their understanding of European history, culture, and politics. That objective is as important now as it has ever been. The Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall Fund will allow us to sustain and strengthen our efforts. Current and future Harvard undergraduates will be grateful, but I am sure that the beneficial effects of this enlightened gift will be felt more broadly on both sides of the Atlantic.”