The end of 2013 is fast approaching, and it is the time of year when many of us think about presents and charitable giving. Consider giving a year-end gift to Lund University.
Your contribution to scholarships for international students, to help them with tuition would be greatly appreciated.  Contributions to the Lund University Foundation are tax deductible in the United States as provided by law.  Simply fill out the form with your credit card details or a cheque and mail it back to us.

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“Education and knowledge are the way to change society for the better. I want to make a difference and help to give young people the same fantastic opportunities I had”, says alumna Monica Getz Silfverschöld, a new board member for the Lund University Foundation.

Lund University Foundation aims to strengthen Lund University’s ties with the USA and American alumni. Monica Getz Silfverschöld divides her time between Lund and the US and is particularly interested in the work on scholarships.

This elegant lady is a fount of university history and memories of Lund. She is a direct descendent of Nicolas Silfverschöld, who was appointed Professor of Law in 1667 at the newly founded Lund University and who held the speech of thanks at the inauguration on 28 January 1668.

Monica Getz Silfverschöld also studied law in Lund, but after just a few months she got a scholarship to go to the US. By then she had already danced in the variety show ballet with Cilla Ingvar and Adrienne Lombard in the main assembly hall in Universitetshuset – which jeopardised her good conduct grade in her secondary school leaving certificate.

“I stepped in for the ballet because one of the girls had fallen ill. However, my mother took up the case and it went to court – we won in the supreme court and I passed in the end.”

Monica Getz Silfverschöld’s mother was Mary von Rosen, a psychologist and the first school welfare officer at Katedralskolan in Lund. Her brother was Carl Gustaf von Rosen, the founder of the Ethiopian air force, an emergency pilot in Africa for many years and a pioneer of Swedish aviation. Monica’s father Nils was a fearless idealist, peace activist and early critic of Nazism in Germany, doctor and Olympic gold medallist in gymnastics.

“I am burdened and blessed to come from a family of enthusiasts who are eager to help those in difficulty”, she says.

Driven by the same spirit, the young Monica Getz Silfverschöld wanted to become a diplomat. The best place to train for that was at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She switched from the University of Mexico where she had studied Portuguese, which would turn out to be very useful later in life. In Washington she met her future husband – famous jazz musician Stan Getz, who was very successful, especially in Brazil where the couple lived for several years.

“Stan didn’t speak a word of Portuguese and the Brazilian musicians didn’t speak English, so my language skills came in very useful.”

With the world of jazz came encounters with alcohol and drug problems which also affected Stan Getz. Monica Getz Silfverschöld talks earnestly about the hunt for the best doctors, the best treatment methods – and she began to study medical subjects linked to addiction problems. The hunt ended in Minnesota at the Hazelden Foundation where the now well-tried Minnesota model of combating alcohol and drug dependency originated, based on the AA’s 12 step programme.

“We took it to Sweden and launched it here”, she explains. Her brother Peter, who was a psychiatrist, also helped in this work.

Convincing the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare and other medical sceptics of the good of the Minnesota model was hard work. Birgitta Crawfoord became a good partner and friend for Monica Getz Silfverschöld, having herself been helped by the Minnesota model and having founded the treatment centre Nämndemansgården in Blentarp. Stan Getz remained sober for ten years, but fell back into addiction, which created difficulties in their marriage.

Over all these years, Monica Getz Silfverschöld has kept several homes, including her flat on Kävlingevägen in Lund, to which she has been faithful since childhood. In California she has founded the Coalition for Family Justice, a foundation for the families of addicts who have difficulty with relationships and especially with contact with society and with the incomprehensible and often ignorant inefficiency of the legal system.

“I have seen many apparently impossible situations in my life, but have also been blessed to be able to use both my good and my painful experiences to help others. I have helped both children and adults to improve their lives and even gain a life full of happiness and meaning.”

Now that Monica Getz Silfverschöld is back in Lund and on her way to a meeting of the Lund University Foundation board, she feels enthusiastic to be able to help.

“I want to do this by creating interest in our scholarships. It’s humbling to be able to open the doors to knowledge for all young people who want to contribute to a better world regardless of national and financial restrictions.”

Text and photo: Maria Lindh

On 9 September 2013, the annual scholarship ceremony was held to honour the international students who have been awarded a scholarship to study at Lund University. The ceremony took place in the assembly hall in the main university building, which was full of scholarship holders and donors.

This year, a total of 183 scholarships have been awarded to students starting at the university in autumn 2013. This includes 108 scholarships from the Lund University Global Scholarship Fund, awarded to talented students to cover the cost of tuition fees. A further 75 students at Lund University received scholarships from the Swedish Institute that cover tuition fees and living costs.

This year, the scholarship holders came from around 30 different countries, including the USA, China, Russia, Taiwan, Gambia, Syria, Kosovo and Argentina.

Vice-Chancellor of Lund University Per Eriksson congratulated the scholarship recipients and talked about how, in his student days, the peaceful social engagement of the students led to major changes in society.

Both donors and students spoke about the importance of giving and receiving scholarships. A Chinese student, Xinyu Hu, who will be studying the Master’s programme in European Business Law, spoke enthusiastically about how the scholarship had enabled her to study at Lund University. Other students described the chance to study alongside top students at Lund University as a dream come true.

This is the third year that Lund University Global Scholarships have been awarded. The scholarship programme is aimed at talented students from outside the EU/EEA and is funded by both public and private sources, including:

• Crafoord Foundation
• Ebba & Ulla Borgströms stiftelse
• Einar Hansen Allehems stiftelse
• Familjen Eliassons Stiftelse för utveckling av god byggnadskultur
• Olle Tegstam Foundation
• SEB Corporate Finance
• Sparbanksstiftelsen Färs & Frosta
• Sparbanksstiftelsen Öresund
• Sten K. Johnson

The ceremony was followed by photographs and a welcome drink for all new international students at Lund University.

About scholarships
Since Sweden introduced tuition fees for students from countries outside the EEA in 2011, the number of students from these countries has fallen by over 80 %. This has made it more difficult to maintain provision of English-language teaching at Master’s level, which in turn leads to a general reduction in numbers of international students. In order to reverse this negative trend, Lund University needs to be able to award scholarships. The diversity of knowledge and experiences that international students bring is important to the development of Lund University.

Text: Tobias Åkerman
Photo: Gunnar Menander

Vattenhallen Science Centre LTH at Lund University has received a development grant of SEK 4 million from the Färs & Frosta Savings Bank Foundation. The money will be the first contribution to a planned extension, which will more than triple the size of the popular attraction. Färs & Frosta’s grant is earmarked for high-tech audiovisual technology for an entirely new lecture theatre and a new exhibition about the digestive system where visitors will be able to walk through a giant intestine.

“We are very grateful and will make an immediate start on the planning of the extension to Vattenhallen”, said Lund University Vice-Chancellor Per Eriksson.

Currently, Vattenhallen has almost 40 000 visitors a year from across southern Sweden. The centre has reached capacity and cannot expand further in its current premises. The grant from the Färs & Frosta Savings Bank Foundation enables the planning of a 2000 m² extension to start. The development grant of SEK 4 million will pay for furnishings and high-tech audiovisual equipment in a new lecture theatre that will form an important part of the extension. The theatre will be used for school classes and for science shows and interactive experiences using modern technology.

“Our wish is that other companies and organisations will want to get involved in our work to spread knowledge and awaken curiosity about science and education in an exciting way”, said Monica Almqvist, director of the centre and senior lecturer at Lund University.

The Vattenhallen extension will be planned during the autumn and is expected to be completed in time for Lund University’s 350th anniversary celebrations. When it is complete, Vattenhallen will have a total area of 2900 m² and will be able to receive 100 000 visitors a year. The new centre will also include a café and a themed playground designed as an outdoor prolongation of Vattenhallen’s experiments.

“The Färs & Frosta Savings Bank Foundation has long had a relationship with the University and has been involved in a number of successful projects. Our involvement in the extension of Vattenhallen is a further step in our investments in young people and our desire to encourage children and young people to take an interest in science. An extension will provide great opportunities for this, not only for Lund and its surroundings, but for the whole region”, said Kristina Liljerup, Chair of the Färs & Frosta Savings Bank Foundation.

An important part of Vattenhallen’s activities is promoting interest in engineering and science degrees. The Färs & Frosta Savings Bank Foundation has therefore also decided together with Vattenhallen to initiate a schools project for secondary school pupils in the field of activity of Färs & Frosta Savings Bank as part of the grant.

The development grant from Färs & Frosta Savings Bank Foundation will also partly finance “The Digestive System”, a new permanent exhibition at Vattenhallen. Visitors will be able to walk through a model of the digestive system. The aim is to give the visitors a spectacular experience of the path food takes through the body and an understanding of how the food we eat affects us.

“We are very pleased that our work at Lund University’s Development Office has led to this donation”, said project manager Eric Hamilton.

Text: Tobias Åkerman

Tell us a little about yourself and how you ended up in California.

Shortly after I had graduated from Lunds Tekniska Högskola I got an offer to work at Sveriges Tekniska Attacheers office in Los Angeles. My girlfriend, Britta, who I met in Lund and who is now my wife, had also joined me in Los Angeles so we decided when my contract was up and it was time to return to Sweden, to stay and we started a  company in Los Angeles. The rest is history as they say. We now have two sons, one starting medical school and one studing mechanical engineering.

As a young student of Lund University you were highly involved in various student organizations. What found memories do you have from your time in Lund?

I learned a lot from my time as vice chair and chair of Lunds Studentkår and as a member of Karnevalskommitten 1982. The most fond memories are from all the things and activities I did with my student friends, many who I still see quite often and do fun activities with. But the best thing was that through all these activities I met my future wife.

You have been involved in creating the Lund University Foundation and have been its Chairman for 3 years. What was the reason behind the creation of LUF?

The initiative was taken and developed by the University. I become part of it about a year into the work when a local representative was needed to take the next step and apply for tax exempt status and organize the foundation. The main purpose is to offer alumni, and friends of Lund University in the United States a familiar and tax deductible way of contributing to the University, its  research, and to provide scholarships to its students. We also assist other departments at the University in building up an Alumni network in the US.

What is Lund University Foundation main purpose?

The main purpose is to raise money for donations to Lund University. We have a great board of trustees and staff that are working hard at that.

And finally, what message do you want to send to Lund University Alumni and Friends of Lund who reads this newsletter? How and why should they get involved and donate to Lund University Foundation?

We all have fond memories from the time in Lund (except maybe the days around finals and when it had rained 2 weeks in a row). To connect to Alumni and reconnect to the University allows you to savor some of those memories but also to build your professional network in the US.

By donating to Lund University Foundation you contribute to the development and strengthening of Lund University for future generations of students and researchers and it is also a way of saying “Thank You”.