College Students with Great Ideas + $10,000 = Foundations for Peace

Dartmouth College is pleased to participate in the Davis Projects for Peace program, designed to encourage and support young people to create and test their own ideas for building peace. As a participant in the Davis United World College Scholars Program, Dartmouth students are invited to design grassroots projects that they implement in the summer. Now in its third year, the Davis program has enabled Dartmouth students, individually and in teams, to undertake projects around the world aimed at the promotion of peace.

The Davis Projects for Peace is made possible by Kathryn Wasserman Davis, an accomplished internationalist and philanthropist. Upon the occasion of her 100th birthday in February of 2007, Mrs. Davis, mother of Shelby M.C. Davis who funds the Davis UWC Scholars Program, chose to celebrate by committing $1 million for one hundred Projects for Peace.  “I want to use my 100th birthday to help young people launch some immediate initiatives – things that they can do during the summer of 2007 – that will bring new thinking to the prospects of peace in the world,” says Mrs. Davis.  Because of the many marvelous achievements made by students in the summer of 2007, Mrs. Davis continued the Davis Projects for Peace for the summers of 2008 -2011 and is offering it again this year.

Dartmouth students with a projects in mind for the summer of 2012 need to submit their proposals via email  to the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by January 25, 2012. All submissions will be reviewed by a committee compsed of faculty and staff, and the most promising (a primary and one alternate selection) will be forwarded to the Davis Foundation.

Email proposals to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by January 25, 2012

Past Recipients

In 2007, the Davis Foundation funded Gabrielle Emanuel '10 and James Allison '10 to provide college test preparation materials and assistance to Ugandan students to encourage application to US colleges. That same year, Erika Sogge '08 and Sarah Hughes '07 received the Davis Foundation's $10,000 grant to run playwriting workshops for youths in Biloxi, Mississippi.

In Summer of 2008, Emmanuel Mensah '09, recieved funding to run leadership workshops for Ghanian youth, while Lilian Mehrel '09 ran filmmaking workships with Israeli and Palestinian youths so that they could share their stories with each other.

In 2009, the Davis award went to Sarah Schewe '10 and Julia Schneider '10 for their project to introduce a community garden in the Bronx.

Mahmud Johnson '13 recieved the Davis award to promote street youth schooling in Liberia during the summer of 2010, while state-side, DeVon Mosley worked with at risk youth outside Dallas to provide better role models to kids under pressure from a gang culture.

Helpful Resources

Davis Projects for Peace Website

Previous Successful Proposals

 2007 Gabrielle Emanuel '10 & James Allison '10

 2007 Sarah Hughes '07 & Erika Sogge '08

 2008 Emmanuel Mensah '09

 2008 Lilian Mehrel '09

 2009 Sarah Schewe '10 & Julia Schneider '10

 2010 Mahmud Johnson '13

 2010 DeVon Mosley '10