Strategic Philanthropy
(From the Autumn 2006 Manley Society Newsletter)

Scholar, educator, administrator, bibliophile, humanitarian: To this list of descriptors of the late St Lawrence University President Emeritus Frank Piskor we might add strategic philanthropist. Along with his late wife and co-strategist Anne Calder Piskor, President Piskor created a legacy and shaped a philanthropic plan that can be a lesson for us all.

Dr. Piskor observed his 90th birthday in January 2006 with friends and family, including daughters Joanne Jones, left, and Nacy Twichell, right, with their sposes Kevin Jones and David Twichell.

St Lawrence was a charity of choice for Frank Piskor. He believed in its mission and its benefit to society. He felt it earned his support. His passions at the University included the library, faculty scholarship and attracting and retaining deserving students.

Frank Piskor, president of St. Lawrence University from 1969 to 1981, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Middlebury College and earned his Ph.D. at Syracuse University. He joined the staff of Syracuse University in 1939 and rose through the administration to become vice chancellor and provost, the position he held when he was named 14th president of St. Lawrence. 

His presidency saw tremendous growth of the University, from serving roughly 1,400 students in 1969 to become a 30-building complex serving 2,000 students.  Augsbury Physical Education Center and Leithead Field House were built; St. Lawrence opened international programs in Kenya, Canada and England; the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery was dedicated; and the addition to the Owen D. Young Library, the Torrey Wing, opened.

Frank and Anne Piskor

Armed with his firm belief in higher education and convinced that St. Lawrence would help fulfill his vision, President Piskor crafted his philanthropic plan to support his areas of strategic interest at the University. First, he was a loyal Annual Fund supporter. He knew well that the education of students cost much more than annual tuition. He made special gifts periodically, such as his 1993 contribution of his Robert Frost collection to the library. As early as 1976 he first named St. Lawrence in his will to receive a bequest. Beginning in 1998 he made a series of gifts to the St. Lawrence Pooled Life Income Fund, which generated income back to him each year. Finally, he named St. Lawrence as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. 

President Piskor planned his estate gifts as a capstone to his lifelong philanthropy. A portion of his gifts went to a scholarship endowment he and Anne had created; another portion went to a special collections endowment at the library; and a final portion went to the Piskor Faculty Lectureship. His gifts will help attract and retain the best students, keep our library strong and encourage the best faculty scholarship, all vital components of a healthy St. Lawrence into the future. 

He knew that we give to charity to make a difference in the world that we cannot make by ourselves alone. He planned and practiced his philanthropy by supporting the work of higher education through St. Lawrence. He showed that together we can make a difference in the lives that follow.

Frank Piskor enjoyed a special friendship with the poet Robert Frost. One of his favorite Frost poems was "Devotion." With its suggestions of deep-rooted connection, steadfastness and ongoing relationship, it conveys an outlook that underscores the foundations of philanthropy.

Devotion

The heart can think of no devotion

Great that being shore to ocean -

Holding the curve of one position,

Counting an endless repetition