September 2016
September 2016
Dear Friends of the Link Foundation:
The Link Foundation, established in 1953 by Edwin A. and Marion C. Link, is in its 63rd year of honoring their legacy by supporting the educational endeavors of highly qualified doctoral students who are working on cutting-edge research in the fields of Simulation, Ocean Engineering, and Energy and by supporting other educational organizations and programs consistent with our founders’ interests. Many of you have been beneficiaries of a Link Foundation grant, are a relative or close personal friend of the Link family, or have an interest in the work of the Foundation. Thank you for your steadfast support which has enabled the Link Foundation to carry out our mission and to continue to honor our founders’ legacy.
Over the past fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, the Link Foundation provided grants in the amount of $566,750, bringing our total grants given since the Foundation’s inception to nearly $15,000,000. Due to the Boards’ good fiscal management of the Link Foundation’s resources, we have been able to increase our primary Fellowship awards to $28,500 per year and we are supporting approximately 13-14 fellows annually as they work to complete their doctoral-level research in our founders’ fields of interest. The Link Foundation also continues to support accomplished high school students, college internships, undergraduate scholarships and graduate student fellowships.
On April 22, 2016, we were delighted that one of our partner institutions, Florida Atlantic University, celebrated 50 years of offering an Ocean Engineering program. At this celebration, the Link Foundation was recognized for providing a generous grant in 1965 which enabled FAU to create the first undergraduate ocean engineering program in the nation. Ms. Marilyn C. Link was in attendance at the celebration and was presented with “The FAU Engineering Owl” award in appreciation and acknowledgement of the Link Foundation’s support and continuing partnership.
We are also pleased to see the historical records of Edwin A. and Marion C. Link and the Link Foundation valued, preserved, and digitized so that they are available to the public. Two educational institutions which were very important to Edwin and Marion Link, Florida Institute of Technology and Binghamton University in New York State, are home to the Link archival collections. On September 18, 2015, Florida Institute of Technology’s Evans Library held a free public event entitled, “About those Links,” honoring Edwin A. and Marion C. Link, Marilyn C. Link, and the Link Foundation. On October 29, 2015, the Binghamton University Library held an opening event for the Marion C. Link exhibit, “Windows in the Sea: The Life and Work of Marion C. Link.” In the fall of 2016, the Binghamton University Library will premiere the newly constructed permanent Link exhibit which will display the life and work of Edwin and Marion Link for all scholars to learn about their work.
We invite you to learn more about these celebrations and others by visiting http://www.binghamton.edu/link-foundation/newsltr/2016/news.html.
We thank you for your generous unsolicited gifts which were received during the past fiscal year. We appreciate the cooperation and encouragement of many individuals who partner with us to assure that the mission of the Link Foundation can be carried out in perpetuity.
Sincerely,
Thomas F. Kelly, PhD
Chairman of the Link Foundation Board