In a surprise announcement on Oct. 6 during Agnes Scott College’s seventh annual Women’s Global Leadership Conference, Gail Grimmett, president and CEO of the Delta Flight Museum, awarded a $1 million grant to Agnes Scott President Leocadia Zak from The Delta Air Lines Foundation.
The grant will support Global Journeys, a signature component of the Summit undergraduate experience that provides every first-year Scottie with a semester-long investigation of global themes that culminates in travel to a global destination.
Agnes Scott’s Summit curriculum is built to cultivate and strengthen global learning, leadership development and career success for every student across all four years, according to a press release.
This innovative approach continues to expand, with a new Universal AI pillar introduced in fall 2026 to provide students with the skills and agility they need to use emerging technologies responsibly and succeed in an evolving workforce.
The gift brings The Delta Air Lines Foundation’s total investment in Agnes Scott’s Summit curriculum to $2 million.
“This is such an incredible investment in Agnes Scott students,” Zak said while receiving the award. “Today, we asked everyone in attendance to consider their own leadership journeys and the ways they can use their experience, perspective and influence to shape what comes next for each of them. This grant ensures we can continue to provide life-changing learning experiences that our students can apply early in their undergraduate education, and continue to build upon during their education here at Agnes, and throughout their lives and careers.”
“At Delta, we believe that seeing the world firsthand changes how you lead in it,” Grimmett said. “The Delta Air Lines Foundation is proud to help ensure that every Agnes Scott student has that experience in their first year, regardless of their ability to afford it.”
As part of Summit, every first-year student takes Global Journeys, a required course paired with a weeklong faculty-led trip at no additional cost to the student. Recent destinations have included Paris, Costa Rica, Northern Ireland, the Sea Islands, the Navajo Nation, Grenada, Ghana, Morocco, Iceland, Belize and Peru. The program helps all students build cultural competency and global awareness early in their college career. Students then add further global learning experiences, such as language study and additional study abroad, during their remaining three years.
Each October, Agnes Scott’s Women’s Global Leadership Conference brings together leaders and emerging leaders for conversations about leadership and the issues shaping communities, industries and the world. This year’s theme, “Innovation Inspiration,” celebrated people who inspire new possibilities across professional settings.
