March 4, 2008
To the Williams Community,
I have good news from The Williams Campaign.
After reaching our original $400-million campaign goal last June, we’ve continued on our upward trajectory, and, with ten months still to go, we’ve just passed the $450-million mark. While these giving milestones are extraordinary, I’m particularly gratified that donors have chosen to honor Williams faculty and staff with leadership gifts. Seven new endowed professorships have been established during the campaign, and two of these have been named in honor of Williams faculty members. Last year we announced the creation of the Frederick Rudolph-Class of 1965 Professorship of American Culture, a chair which Bob Dalzell now holds.
More recently, trustee and Williams Campaign co-chair Paul Neely ’68 endowed the J. Hodge Markgraf ’52 Professorship, a chair that recognizes the strength of our faculty and honors Hodge, who set a particularly high standard. The professorship will be awarded to a faculty member in any field who displays the “strikingly balanced skills of scholarly excellence and high citizenship that Hodge Markgraf did for almost 60 years.” As Paul Neely himself wrote, “There is no question that Hodge set the most brilliant combined example of scholarship, teaching, and citizenship within the memory of anyone alive today. That is what should be honored.” I am delighted that Hodge’s example will now be perpetuated by the generosity of Paul, who has himself set a similarly high standard of alumni commitment to Williams.
Emeritus trustee Fay Vincent ’60 has chosen to honor former director of financial aid and long-time citizen of the College, Hank Flynt ’44, by endowing a graduate fellowship program in Hank’s name and creating a substantial undergraduate scholarship fund. Fay’s two gift commitments total $7 million. Fay, who received financial aid as a Williams student, said that “Hank Flynt made us proud to be among his group and gave us support in many ways, not just financially. I honor him because he was honorable to all of us.” In celebrating Fay’s wonderful gift, it’s worth reminding ourselves that campaign contributions for financial aid, which have already reached $75 million, have emboldened us to drop loan requirements while vastly increasing the amount of need-based grants we now offer half of all Williams students.
As we consider The Williams Campaign’s sheer scope, and its success to date, gifts such as those related here remind us that Williams alumni, parents, and friends give to honor Williams professors and administrators and to support the students they serve.
Regards,
M. Schapiro
President
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