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