Weitzen gift establishes the Foreign Policy Scholars Fund
A gift commitment from alumna Jill Weitzen
MacDonald ’74 MPA has established the Weitzen Foreign Policy Scholars Fund,
which will provide scholarship and financial assistance to master’s students at
the Maxwell School.
The Weitzen Fund will support students
who have demonstrated interest in foreign policy and international affairs,
with preference to those who plan to pursue careers at the U.S. Department of
State. The Weitzen gift combines a planned bequest with an upcoming cash gift, with
an expected combined value of $150,000.
Jill Weitzen MacDonald has spent her adult
life in public service. Following her graduation from Maxwell, she began a
career in municipal government, working in the budget offices of Alexandria,
Virginia, and Evanston, Illinois. She eventually was elected to one term as a trustee
of the Solana Beach (California) School District (1992-95) and three terms as a
member of the city council of Bunker Hill Village, Texas (1998-2004). She is
also a former district coordinator for the Urban Land Institute and a former
board member and president of the Del Mar Foundation.
Her son, Andrew, a current Foreign
Service Officer in the State Department, was part of the inspiration for MacDonald’s
gift creating the Weitzen Foreign Policy Scholars Fund. Weitzen’s gift
celebrates, in her words, the “intelligence, dedication, and sacrifice made by
the men and women of the United States diplomatic corps” and is intended to
motivate “others to have the opportunity to serve their country in this unique
way.”
In making the gift, she also noted the
importance of Maxwell in her life and career. “The Maxwell School,” she said, “made
me the person who I am today — engaged in my community and the way it is
governed.”
10/25/18