Cummings Center Endowed Fund
The Cummings Center Endowed Fund was established in 2022 through a generous bequest from Dr. R. Allen Gardner and will be used to advance the mission of the Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology at The University of Akron.
Dr. Gardner and his late wife and collaborator, Dr. Beatrix "Trixie" Tugendhut Gardner, received international attention for their groundbreaking psychological research on the ability of chimpanzees to learn sign language. In the course of this work, they changed the conversation on nonhuman primate communication. In 1966, the couple adopted the chimpanzee Washoe and cross-fostered her, raising her in their home as if she were a deaf human child. The Gardners reported that Washoe had learned signs for hundreds of words and created expressions like "water birds" for a pair of swans and "open flower" to gain admittance to a flower garden. They further reported that Washoe seemed to be teaching sign language to a young companion. The Gardners conducted similar research with four more chimpanzees: Moja, Pili, Tatu and Dar.
The Cummings Center Endowed Fund will advance the mission of The Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology, which is to promote psychology's history and related human sciences to the broadest community possible. The Cummings Center acquires, preserves, and provides access to primary sources that support the complete historical record of psychology and related human sciences.
Distributions from The Cummings Center Endowed Fund will support daily operations of The Cummings Center, including staffing, exhibitions, collections care, building maintenance, programs, and other opportunities/expenses as determined by the director of the Cummings Center.
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