Lawrence Today magazine, Summer 2009
COLLEGE RECEIVES $10 MILLION BEQUEST
Citing a strong belief in all of what Lawrence University does and represents, a graduate of the college who has chosen to remain anonymous has made a $10 million commitment to Lawrence in the form of a bequest. With this bequest, the More Light! campaign now stands at $120 million toward its $150 million goal.
It ranks among the largest commitments in Lawrence’s history, second only to the $16 million commitment from an anonymous donor in 2006 for the construction of the Warch Campus Center. The $10 million future gift will support the college’s endowment, including the establishment of a new endowed professorship in Lawrence’s conservatory of music. A portion of the gift also will be used to bolster the endowment for Björklunden, Lawrence’s 425-acre northern campus in Door County, with additional funds from the gift designated for campus facilities maintenance and general operations.
“The generosity of this donor is remarkable in its scale and in the hopes it embodies for the future of our fine liberal arts college and conservatory,” said Lawrence President Jill Beck. “Planned commitments such as this may be more comfortable for donors to make today, yet they help us to guarantee the success of tomorrow.” In making the gift, the donor said growing the college’s endowment was paramount to ensuring Lawrence’s future financial vitality.
“Lawrence is deserving of the very best and I want to do my part to strengthen the college’s endowment,” said the donor, who lives outside of Wisconsin. “Deferred giving provides everyone who loves and cares about Lawrence an important way to profoundly impact the college. I very much hope my example might encourage others to make deferred gifts in ways that are appropriate for their financial situation. Collectively, we can effect significant progress at the college.”
The Lawrence-Downer Legacy Circle is the college’s donor recognition program that recognizes and celebrates philanthropic individuals who make deferred gifts for the future benefit of the college. Bequests have ranked among the largest gifts Lawrence received in recent years. The Lawrence Legacy Circle counts nearly 800 individuals among its ranks. For more information about the Legacy Circle, please contact 800-283-8320.
$1 MILLION GIFT BOOSTS LAWRENCE SCHOLARSHIPS
Robert and Bonnie Buchanan always appreciated the quality of their Lawrence University educations. They intend to ensure that future generations of students are able to access a similar opportunity. The Appleton couple, both 1962 graduates of Lawrence, have established the Bonnie Glidden and Robert C. Buchanan Scholarship with a $1 million gift.
Beginning in the fall of 2010, the gift will provide four student scholarships annually of nearly $12,500 each. Preference will be given to students from the Fox Valley of Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula who have an interest in English or economics.
“The timing of this gift is incredible,” said Cal Husmann, vice president for development and alumni relations. “Given the current economic climate, it is a testament to Lawrence’s standing in the community that the Buchanans continue to support our students in difficult as well as good times. This gift provides further proof of the importance of the college and our amazing students, who have demonstrated time and again that they are worthy of this kind of investment.” This is the second major endowment gift the Buchanans have made to Lawrence. In 1994, they established the Bonnie Glidden Buchanan Chair in English Literature, an endowed professorship currently held by Associate Professor Tim Spurgin.
“At a time when students and their parents are more concerned than ever about how to pay for a college education, gifts of this magnitude bolster our scholarship endowment, enabling us to continue attracting the best college students in the country,” Husmann added. “We are honored that Bob and Bonnie decided to invest in Lawrence in this most thoughtful fashion.”
