An enduring legacy in service to education
When early 20th-century philanthropist Charles Canfield left $1 million in his will to help facilitate an educational pathway for girls, he may not have imagined that 100 years later his gift would still be changing women’s lives. But that is exactly what happened.
When early 20th-century philanthropist Charles Canfield left $1 million in his will to help facilitate an educational pathway for girls, he may not have imagined that 100 years later his gift would still be changing women’s lives.
Canfield’s wife, Chloe, a schoolteacher before marriage, mother of seven, and charitable leader in Los Angeles, died tragically in 1906. To honor her memory and enduring commitment to education and philanthropy, Charles designated $1 million of his estate to the discretion of his five surviving daughters for the provision of training resources for girls in Los Angeles County.
The next generation of Canfields furthers the family legacy
Several years after Charles’s death in 1913, his daughters established The Canfield Foundation, which furthered a family legacy that would last a lifetime. For decades, The Canfield Foundation distributed hundreds of scholarships to women under the leadership of Charles' granddaughter Deborah Spalding Pelissero, B.A. Journalism Stanford '43. His great-granddaughter Candace (Candy) Pelissero remains active in the program today.
“My great-grandmother was a mother and housewife, and my great-grandfather worked in the mining industry during a time when many of the miners' daughters couldn’t get an education,” explains Candy. “There were girls whose parents were simply unable to care for them. My great-grandparents recognized the inequity and were intentional about facilitating a pathway to success for girls and young women.”
Candy and her mother served on the board of The Canfield Foundation until its dissolution in 1972. When distributing the foundation assets, the mother-daughter Pelissero duo chose the Stanford Graduate School of Education (GSE)--then known as the Stanford University School of Education (SUSE)--as the home for the Canfield Scholars Fund. The $1 million endowment was both a nod to the legacy of Chloe Canfield as an educator and to the family’s multi-generational commitment to the education of women and girls.
The Canfield legacy at Stanford and beyond
To date, the Canfield Scholars program at the GSE has provided financial assistance to more than 500 female graduate students. Having now eclipsed its 50th anniversary at the GSE, the Canfield Fund continues to gather momentum, making an exponential impact on generation after generation of women scholars whose contributions to the landscape of education are as varied as the recipients themselves.
Charles Canfield’s great-granddaughter, Candy, together with her husband, Brian Larsen are steadfast in their ongoing commitment to honor and further the philanthropic work established by the Canfield family a century ago. At Stanford, the couple remains instrumental in honing scholarship award criteria and supporting young women, particularly those from underserved backgrounds or who are the first generation in their family to pursue higher education.
“It is so important that we not lose brilliant young minds,” Candy insists. “Putting enthusiastic educators and scholars in classrooms and communities is the best way to make an impact. Through the provision of these funds, we may be able to identify and support that one person who can make significant change in the world.”
Canfield Scholar alumnae, now numbering in the thousands, have made significant changes in the world and champion the Canfield legacy, thanks to the endowed nature of the fund and the visionary philanthropists who made such a meaningful and enduring commitment to education and equity.
