Hailing from Washington D.C and instilled with an international outlook from an early age, Marea Hatziolos understands the need to confront the global challenges on the horizon, the importance of science in seeking solutions, and that today’s youth are best positioned to take the lead. And she knows that to do this effectively, students must have the financial support to travel, to engage in information exchange directly with leading researchers and decision makers. In this spirit, Hatziolos was inspired to establish the Marea Hatziolos Endowed Graduate Student Travel Fund in Veterinary Medicine. This fund will carry on the philanthropic legacy of Hatziolos’ internationally minded parents, who established their own Vet Med fund years ago.
Her father, Dr. Basil Constantine Hatziolos, was a professor of Animal Pathology in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) at the University of Maryland from 1952–1972. He emigrated to the United States from Greece in 1947 for a special assignment to the Greek Embassy in D.C. with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Program. He also enjoyed a distinguished career in Veterinary Medicine with pioneering research in Animal Husbandry. Her mother, born of Greek parents and a romance language major at Boston University, was
recruited for her foreign language skills to join the Armed Forces Security Agency Council, which later became the NSA. Their international upbringing, extensive travel, and career pursuits imbued a worldly perspective in Hatziolos, inspiring her to explore opportunities that combined marine ecosystem science and international development. An AAAS Science and Diplomacy Fellowship with USAID paved the way to a 40-year career in sustainable development, including 20 years at the World Bank, where Hatziolos led the Bank’s program in Coastal and Marine Resources Management.
Her parents’ path also deeply shaped her philanthropic journey. “I was grateful for the first-class education and the international outlook I received growing up,” Hatziolos said. “Working and living in developing countries with USAID and the World Bank sensitized me to the unmet needs and huge potential of young people around the world. My parents’ example shined a light on a path of philanthropy for me that has proved personally fulfilling in many respects. In addition to this AGNR endowment for student travel, I set up a fund at Save the Children in memory of my late husband to catalyze innovation in the delivery of maternal/child health to rural communities in Vietnam and impoverished urban settlements in Nairobi.”
She hopes that her travel fund will keep the door open to first-hand exchanges of knowledge and the sharing of important research breakthroughs that help close the gap on growing health challenges intensified by climate change and the proximity of animal/human interactions. A student might take advantage of this fund to attend a research conference to present their findings and garner feedback from other experts in their field. For Hatziolos, this fund also serves as an important mechanism to compensate for the slashing of NIH travel grants and other sources of support being cut at the state and national levels.
“Cutting-edge research in programs like One Health and others at AGNR will be game-changing,” Hatziolos said. “For the graduate students carrying out this research, the ability to travel and report on it will, I hope, help build self-confidence, sharpen their public speaking skills and motivate them to succeed.”
If you are interested in supporting AGNR, please contact:
Carolyn Fernandez,
Assistant Dean for External Relations
AGNR, University of Maryland
301.405.7733 | cfernanc@umd.edu
