Library At WCSU In Danbury Scores $5K Grant

DANBURY, CT — The Western Connecticut State University library was awarded a $5,000 grant by the Jane T. Muhlethaler Foundation Inc., a private independent foundation in Fairfield County, to purchase textbooks for core business classes.

This is the second grant from the Muhlethaler Foundation in support of the textbook project.

The main goal of the project is to alleviate the financial burden associated with the high cost of textbooks, making required materials accessible to all, according to a news release from the university.

The average business textbook is now $180, and professors often require more than one textbook per class. One-fourth of WCSU’s student body is enrolled in the AACSB-accredited Ancell School of Business. Approximately 49 percent of WCSU students are from historically underrepresented minority populations, 34 percent are low-income, and 29 percent are the first generation in their families to go to college.

The Muhlethaler Foundation grant plus matching WCSU library funds will keep the collection of textbooks for the five business disciplines — marketing, management, finance and economics, accounting and management information systems — current through summer 2024, according to the university.