Shari VanDelinder Endowed Fellowship

Shari VanDelinder was a unique and extraordinary life force. No one who ever met her will forget her. She was successful in every job she ever had and every business endeavor she chose to undertake. She enjoyed life like no other but her ultimate goal was to bring her family and friends on that joyful journey. Her strong body and unequaled spirit finally succumbed to a litany of medical challenges that would have taken a lesser person long ago.

Shari was very passionate about people struggling with all forms of neurodevelopmental disabilities. Knowing family and friends who themselves had been touched by these issues, Shari became especially passionate about autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, CTE or Alzheimer’s. She had been in discussions with Michigan State University to create an endowed fellowship to support these areas of interests at the time of her unexpected death. 

In her memory, several anonymous donors provided leaderships level gifts to create the Shari VanDelinder Endowed Fellowship to continue to champion those interests Shari was so passionate about and to be a legacy in her honor. 

Thanks to many generous donors, Shari’s legacy has inspired over $107,000 in gifts to get this fund endowed. These donations have already started making an impact. Melissa Anderson-Chavarria, an MSU doctoral candidate studying medical anthropology, was the inaugural recipient of the Shari VanDelinder Endowed Fellowship. Her work studying autism and its impact on certain communities is being directly supported by this fellowship and she is profoundly grateful to Shari and the many donors who have made her studies possible. Learn more about Melissa’s research and how additional support will help enhance opportunities for future fellowship recipients here.

Your support will help increase the impact work like Melissa's, as well as future fellows, will be able to have on the families of those impacted by neurodevelopmental disorders. Gifts to the Shari VanDelinder Endowed Fellowship will support a fellowship at the MSU Center for Research in Autism, Intellectual, and other Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (C-RAIND). C-RAIND's mission is to improve the quality of life of people with neurodevelopmental disabilities (such as autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, CTE or Alzheimer’s) and their families across the lifespan. The Shari VanDelinder Endowed Fellowship will help C-RAIND continue to grow into a national and international leader in research, training and service in neurodevelopmental disabilities that provides tangible benefits to the global community.

Your gift honors Shari's life and incredible legacy by supporting critical research benefitting those suffering from neurodevelopmental disabilities. 

Make a Gift by Mail:

University Advancement
Spartan Way
535 Chestnut Road, Room 300
East Lansing, MI 48824

*Make check payable to Michigan State University and write “Appeal 21OOPCF1SHARI” in the note section.

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