The Hearst Foundations are supporting new teaching technologies at University of the Pacific, enabling California’s first chartered university to enhance classrooms in the wake of COVID-19.

The $175,000 grant to Pacific is one of 11 grants Hearst made as part of a $1.5 million distribution to fund educational organizations, social and health services, cultural entities and COVID-19 emergency response efforts throughout California.

Pacific will use the funds to upgrade the technology in classrooms to help promote in-person and remote learning. 

“We are proud of our long association with the university,” said Paul “Dino” Dinovitz, executive director for the Hearst Foundations’ San Francisco office. “The Hearst Foundations seek transformative initiatives and we are pleased to be a partner in the project. Our priority is higher education and efforts designed to improve access for students are more important now than ever before.”

The Hearst Foundations are independent private philanthropies operating separately from the Hearst Corporation. Since their founding in the 1940s by William Randolph Hearst, the Foundations have awarded more than 20,000 grants to nonprofit organizations and institutions in the fields of education, health, culture and social service. In 2019, the Hearst Foundations made 303 grants totaling $45 million.

"We are grateful for the Hearst Foundations’ critical support of higher education during these challenging times," said Pacific President Christopher Callahan. "This technology will ensure our students receive the top-flight Pacific education they expect by supporting safe in-classroom experiences and robust remote instruction."

Pacific plans to use the new technologies well into the future by more efficiently and effectively connecting learning environments on the university’s campuses in Stockton, Sacramento and San Francisco.