OUTCOMES
Giving Thanks and Looking Ahead
O
n a chilly October afternoon, the HWS community gathered at the Scandling Campus Center to dedicate the Seneca Society Donor Wall in recognition of that group’s inaugural members. Established in 2006, the Seneca Society honors those individuals whose philanthropy has remarkably altered the course of Hobart and William Smith history. The wall, which surrounds a new courtyard on the southwest side of the Scandling Campus Center, is etched with the names of Seneca Society members and serves as a permanent reminder of their generosity. “Some of the names on this wall are familiar to all of us because they grace the spaces we use every day,” said President Mark D. Gearan at the dedication. “These structures directly support our faculty and students as places of inspiration, research, creativity, community, contemplation and learning. Others honored on this wall chose to support our endowment through the establishment of professorships and scholarships, enhancing the work of our faculty and providing access to qualified and deserving students.” Seher Syed ’10 reflected on the impact the generosity of alumni, alumnae, families and friends of HWS has had on her, particularly that of Honorary Trustee Charles H. Salisbury Jr. ’63, P’94, L.H.D. ’08, the sponsor of the Salisbury Summer International Internship Fund, which supported Syed’s work at Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. “Each of you is here this afternoon because you’ve made positive change by giving something back – to me, to my fellow students, to Hobart and William Smith. You’ve made my HWS education possible, and I am inspired by your generosity,” she said. The monetary gifts, as Professor of Sociology Jack Harris reminded the crowd, are the, “foundation of our success. They mold our identity and take us to the next level of
Seneca Society Donor Wall Dedication and Emerson Society Dinner institutional maturity and security,” he said. “Members of the Seneca Society have affirmed, supported and sustained what we do here – the education of young women and men for lives of consequence. Their support reveals confidence and optimism in our work and in our future. They direct our focus, enrich our academic courses and programs, and engage us in activity that is public and reaches out to change our local and global communities.” At the close of the dedication, Chair of the Board of Trustees David Deming ’75 issued a challenge to the Classes of 2010, pledging to match, dollar-for-dollar, everything the senior classes raise for the Annual Fund as long as 50 percent of the classes participate. Following the dedication, Deming welcomed guests to the Vandervort Room for the annual Emerson Society dinner. Members of the Emerson Society are individuals whose annual giving to the Colleges totals $2,000 or more per year. Katherine D. Elliott ’66, L.H.D. ’08, Trustee and National Chair of the Annual Fund, kicked off the event by paying tribute to William M. Emerson P’64,GP’88, the man for whom the society is named. “In the most appropriate way, the naming of the Emerson Society links the name of this important figure with the names of his direct successors, those people whose annual support of Hobart and William Smith is, indeed, transformational, in the best Emerson tradition.” Following the dinner and performances by HWS a capella groups, six members of the Colleges community—Associate Dean for Teaching, Learning and Assessment Susan Pliner, Assistant Professor of Biology Meghan Brown, Hobart Head Soccer Coach Shawn Griffin, Darragh Clarke ’10, Casey Franklin ’10 and Student Trustee Dan DeNose ’10 — spoke about the transformative effects of the HWS experience. ●
by Caitlyn Pryde Mills
TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM THESE EVENTS, PLEASE VISIT WWW.HWS.EDU/EMERSON.
“Members of the Seneca Society have affirmed, supported and sustained what we do here – the education of young women and men for lives of consequence. Their support reveals confidence and optimism in our work and in our future.” – Professor of Sociology Jack Harris
HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES
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