A List
9/1/03
$18 MILLION GIVEN TO SLU IN 2002-2003
CANTON – Total giving to St. Lawrence University from private sources reached
$18,030,702 in fiscal year 2002-2003 (ending June 30, 2003), the second-largest
year for private gifts in the University's history.
Campaign St. Lawrence was successfully concluded during the fiscal year,
surpassing its goal of $130 million with a final total of $132,175,669.
Gift support came from 9,669 donors, including 3,481 from the North
Country region. Of the total, $11.2 million was given to the University by
alumni; $3.6 million by parents; $1.5 million by "friends" (individuals not
graduates, parents or with other associations to the University); some
$300,000 by corporations; $1.3 million by foundations; and about $100,000 by
other organizations. Gifts to the St. Lawrence Fund, the University's annual
giving program to support the operating budget, totaled $3.8 million.
Many of the gifts also benefit programs that affect the area and its
residents:
- To augment the $5.9 million St. Lawrence awarded during the year in
scholarship aid to students from the North Country, $139,990 was received in
expendable scholarship aid and over $1.2 million in scholarship endowment aid.
- A $12,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation, awarded to the University
through the Independent College Fund of New York, Inc., allowed students and
faculty to work with students in Canton and Lisbon high schools to improve
literacy through theatre and technology. With assistance from the grant
participants developed a program that teamed St. Lawrence undergraduates with
high school students identified as needing special assistance with reading,
writing and speaking skills, in a collaborative effort to find creative solutions
to literacy problems through theatre and technology. Students in St. Lawrence's
education department were involved in the program, with assistance from the Liberty
Partnership Program of the Associated Colleges of the St. Lawrence Valley. In
support of the project, St. Lawrence provides approximately $13,369 in institutional
resources as cost-sharing.
- ConAgra Foods Foundation contributed $250,000 towards its total $1 million
commitment establishing the Philip B. Fletcher Memorial Scholarship Fund, in honor
of Fletcher, a 1954 graduate of St. Lawrence and former chairman and chief executive
officer of ConAgra Foods Inc. A native of Carthage, New York, Fletcher died in 2000;
the scholarship benefits talented students with financial need, with first preference
given to those from Carthage, and second preference to those from Jefferson and
Lewis Counties.
- Support for internships benefited not only St. Lawrence students, but
also the area agencies and organizations in which they worked, including social
services, not-for-profit agencies, correctional facilities and government offices.
- Supported by a gift from the family of a St. Lawrence University alumna,
the first annual Ellen C. Burt Symposium was held on campus, on the topic
"Going Local: Capitalizing on our Resources in St. Lawrence County." The Burt
Symposium brings together stakeholders in northern New York to explore ways to
enhance the region's economic, environmental and educational vitality. It is
funded by the University's Ellen C. Burt '42 Endowment for North Country Education.
- Unrestricted gifts supported the Canton Initiative, the University's
program of co-investment in the community towards projects of mutual benefit.
Among the projects that the Canton Initiative has supported are the construction
of the new fire station; a canoe launch; the development, improvement or expansion
of several downtown businesses; the re-location of the headquarters of Traditional
Arts of Upstate New York; and construction or renovation of residences through the
local chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
President Daniel F. Sullivan commented, "Our cash gift total for last year is
nothing short of astounding given the state of the economy and the uncertainty
introduced by the world situation. There is a deep-seated generosity of spirit among
Laurentians that is deeply gratifying. That so much of this support has links to the
North Country symbolizes our connection to this place, and our commitment to it."
Vice President for University Advancement Michael P. Archibald said, "Total
giving to St. Lawrence each year has more than tripled since 1995, reflecting the
enthusiasm our donors feel for St. Lawrence's performance and the important role the
University plays in educating students. The successful completion of Campaign
St. Lawrence marks a historical benchmark for the University, upon which to measure
future accomplishments. St. Lawrence has generated a great deal of momentum in recent
years, and we look forward to carrying that momentum into the future."
Other fund-raising highlights for the year include:
- An anonymous donor gave St. Lawrence $5 million for new science facilities.
A comprehensive science facilities planning process has been on-going for the past
three years. The plan calls for a four-phase, multi-year project that includes new
construction and extensive renovation. The $5 million gift will be dedicated toward
Phase I of the project: two new interconnected buildings constructed parallel to
one another for biology and chemistry, with animal behavior laboratory space for
those departments, plus psychology, a greenhouse and extensive space for student
and faculty research.
- St. Lawrence was awarded a $4.5 million grant from New York State, to
assist in the construction of the new science facilities. New York State Senators
Ronald B. Stafford '57, a University trustee, and Joseph L. Bruno made the
announcement that the University will receive funding from the Senate's Gen*NY*sis
biotechnology economic development program. St. Lawrence will use the funds as part
of a project to house new facilities for biology, chemistry, biochemistry and
neuroscience programs, a shared microscopy center, an instrumentation facility
and an animal research facility.
- Professor of Canadian Studies Robert W. Thacker was appointed a Molson
Research Fellow, allowing him to take a year's sabbatical leave to conduct research
in preparation for writing the biography of Canadian author Alice Munro. The fellowship
is funded by a gift from Eric Molson, chairman of Molson Inc., and his wife, Jane
Molson, of Montreal, through the Lincolnshire Foundation. Thacker has begun work on
Alice Munro: Writing Her Lives, an extended literary biography focused on Munro, her
fiction, and her career.
- A $1 million charitable remainder trust came to the University from the
estate of an anonymous parent.
- St. Lawrence received from the estate of Marion Grubola '38 her home in
Santa Barbara, California, and the remainder of a commercial annuity, totaling
$1.3 million.
- Martha Peterson '62 and her husband Gregg, of Georgetown, Texas, gave the
University $1 million to fund a charitable remainder trust for faculty support.
- The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded a grant of $40,000 to the University
to support planning for a library consortium that includes St. Lawrence and four other
independent colleges. The project, called ConnectNY, allows the institutions to share
library holdings, making the collections of all five available to students, faculty
and staff. Colgate University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute
of Technology and Vassar College join with St. Lawrence to form ConnectNY.
- St. Lawrence was awarded a $15,000 grant by the Russell Pearce and Elizabeth
Crimian Heuer Foundation to initiate the Heuer Research Fellows Program, supporting
independent study by chemistry students. The summer research program sponsored by the
Heuer Foundation grant targets first- and second-year students to offer increased
opportunities for in-depth science research experiences at a time when students are
exploring the potential to major in science. The Heuer Foundation grant will support
students' research opportunities and travel costs to attend and present their research
findings at the national American Chemical Society's annual meeting. The program will
provide new opportunities for students to undertake summer research in chemistry and
biochemistry, working with upperclass students when possible.
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