The Impact of Planned Giving

Moffett Hall, with its stately brick-and-stone façade, four pillars and cupola, brackets the residence hall quad of the same name and provides a picturesque backdrop upon entry to campus from Tyler Avenue. Inside, 350 students call it home each semester.

The building stands as Radford University’s physical tribute to Mary Ledger “M’Ledge” Moffett, Ph.D., who for 49 years (1913-1962) was a constant figure at a growing institution.

Despite standing just 5 feet tall, she wielded a unique power among Virginia educators, as the first woman to serve as dean of a state public institution, after being appointed dean of women in 1920.

Her influence went beyond the title. Moffett earned a national reputation as a champion of women’s education and was revered locally for her wisdom, engaging personality and graceful dancing. By the time she retired from Radford College, Moffett was known for being the loudest voice and most familiar face on campus.

With all that she contributed to the institution’s growth, it was the legacy she put in writing in August of 1959 that carries significant weight at Radford University today. “After the foregoing bequests have been made, I bequeath the remainder of my estate to Radford College to be added to the Moffett Scholarship Fund,” Moffett wrote in her will.

Those words marked the establishment of Radford’s first planned gift, a program that has continued to add new donors who wish to leave their legacy. Planned gifts to Radford University can have an impact now and beyond your lifetime. Many offer tax savings, and some even provide you with income for life.

Deferred gifts like Moffett’s are recognized through the Society of 1910, which recognizes alumni and friends who have generously included Radford University in their estate plans.

In the following pages are stories of individuals who have elected to make planned gifts. Kathryn Crawford Applegate ’85, Jordan Stidham ’16, MBA ’19, and Tina McKinney Weiner ’72 are alumni who used the skills they developed at Radford to make societal impacts as philanthropists, community nonprofit leaders and educators.

What the three have in common is the knowledge that their gift will make a difference in the lives of future generations.

Moffett believed the same and used the first planned gift to pay tribute to her inspiration.

“This is given as a memorial to my mother, Mrs. Mary S. Moffett,” M’Ledge wrote. “She believed in education as the chief source of real security and in the development of the spirit of a person as his chief source of personal happiness.”

By establishing a legacy that continues 64 years later, Dean Moffett made an everlasting impact across the university and will continue to do so for generations.