Why
We Give
Larry Winston '60
Forty-nine years ago, Larry Winston ’60, from a self-described
family of “modest means,” sold popcorn at hockey games in
Appleton Arena, tended to lab rats in the psychology
department and had
a small allowance from the ROTC
program. He worked his way through college
as he earned honors in psychology and made some of the best friends of
his life. Today, he is chair of the Board
of Trustees and one of the
University’s must generous benefactors.
Larry and his wife,
Sally, have pledged $2.5 million to the University's next comprehensive
fund-raising campaign, to be used in support of the St.
Lawrence Fund and to provide permanent funding for what was named the Laurentian
Room in the Student Center. In recognition of their gift, the room
is now named the Winston Room in their honor; it was so dedicated
in February of 2005.
“St. Lawrence is far along on the right track to improving an
already great reputation as a leading liberal arts college,” said
Winston. “We have made our campus one of the most beautiful
and functional I’ve ever seen, and comparable changes in our
educational programs have moved us far ahead of many of our peers.
We attract greater numbers of bright and talented students and faculty
to the University. Every measure that we employ to gauge the satisfaction
and success of our graduates indicates that we are achieving our mission.
Sally and I wanted to do something to help us stay that course.”
Winston,
chair of Distribution Alternatives, Inc., joined the Board of Trustees
in 1987, and was vice chair of the University's Campaign Steering Committee
during Campaign St. Lawrence, which concluded in 2002 and exceeded
its goal, raising $132.2 million.
Winston
says that they felt strongly about organizing their largest gift to
the University while he is chairing the Board of Trustees, to provide
an example of the commitment necessary as the University initiates
a major new campaign. They chose to support the Student
Center, he
adds, because it is at the heart of the campus, both physically and
in the way it strengthens the student experience. They are especially
pleased that, because the Student Center is completed, their gift will
free up funds that can now be channeled into other ongoing, critical
or new initiatives, including the construction of the new science center
and the never-ending goal of increasing the University's endowment.
Philanthropy
has been a Winston family tradition. In 1986, they established the
Lawrence J. Winston Family Scholarship at St. Lawrence; it has helped
pay the costs of the junior and senior years of more than 30 students.
Sally Winston established the Sally Winston Campus Beautification
Fund in 1993 and funds annually the placement of flower arrangements
in various locations throughout campus on major college event weekends.
In addition, she has funded the redecorating of several cabins at St.
Lawrence's Conference Center in the Adirondacks, Canaras.
The
Winstons have personal experience with the education of the whole student.
Their daughter Donna ’85 “had a very successful experience
at St. Lawrence and has taken her fine arts degree and converted it
to a high-level position with a major Wall Street firm, Goldman Sachs,” says
Larry. Their granddaughter Danielle Weaver is president of the class
of ’07.
