Ensuring leading scholarship in support of a solid future for the Worlds of Words collection.

 We are pleased to be the recipient of one of the largest gifts in the history of the College of Education. A $1 million gift has been made to support our Worlds of Worlds, the largest collection of global literature for children and young adults in the nation, and the second largest in the world.
The gift was made by the collection's director, Professor Kathy G. Short, and her husband, Jerry Short, who wanted to endow the director's position in order to ensure that Short's successors are leading scholars who can further advance the collection.

In recognition of Short's efforts to create and grow the collection, she was asked by the dean to be the first holder of the chair, which has been named the Founders Endowed Chair in Education for Global Children's and Adolescent Literature.Fostering intercultural and international understanding
is a priority for the University of Arizona, said UA President Robert C. Robbins. "Increasingly, our students, and the future students of the teachers who graduate from the UA, must be prepared to collaborate with people from all over the world," Robbins said. "Because of the Shorts' gift, and through this incredible literature collection, the university and the College of Education are positioned to lead in this area. I am very grateful to the Shorts for their amazing generosity." More.