Dear Sewanee Family,

Hope your summer is off to a great start!
Though this season is often described as slow-paced, it’s a busy time for us—the end of Sewanee’s fiscal year is coming up on June 30, and we’re working to meet a range of funding goals. You can help us reach the finish line by contributing to your favorite University cause here.

With gratitude for your generosity,

Your friends in University Relations

Before Madilyn Parker, C’26, graduates from Sewanee next year, she’ll play a final season of softball on the Mountain. Several games stand out in her mind, including one that occurred prior to her arrival at the University—on the morning after her senior prom. “My dad woke me up and said, ‘We’re going to go watch Sewanee play!’” she says. “I don’t think I’d slept the night before. I was like, ‘OK, sounds good.’” 

This level of enthusiasm was typical for Jon Parker, P’26, according to Madilyn and her mother, Andi Parker, P’26. “[Jon] was very passionate about softball and being there for Madilyn,” Andi says. After Jon’s unexpected passing last year, his family looked for ways to honor him and learned about the planned comprehensive renovation of Sewanee’s softball stadium. 

Earlier this year, Andi provided a major gift toward the softball project and reached out to other potential supporters. As a result of her efforts, an anonymous donor with ties to Sewanee softball recently stepped up to provide a $200,000 challenge gift, narrowing the fundraising gap significantly. With a game-changing win in sight, other fans of Tiger softball are encouraged to help drive this project across home plate.

Jon Parker, P'26, (right) was an avid fan of Sewanee softball and never missed an opportunity to cheer for his favorite Sewanee Tiger, daughter Madilyn Parker, C'26 (left). A plaque at the University's renovated softball stadium will honor Jon's memory.

Terri Taylor, C'79, majored in natural resources at Sewanee and often performed at the Outside Inn, a campus music venue. 

On the Domain, there’s plenty of room to explore and stretch limits—but the campus is also just small enough to connect with special people and form lifelong friendships. In the late 1970s, a group of students bonded over their shared love of nature and music, and quickly became inseparable. The Cumberland Nine, as they named themselves, continued to stay in close touch after graduation, despite spreading across the country. Recently, Drs. Paul Erwin, C’79, and Renée J. Hyatt, and Frank and Beth Candler Marchman, both C’79, created an endowed scholarship to honor Terri Taylor, C’79, a beloved member of the Nine who passed away in 2005.

Valerie Crumpton, T'11, (left) says she and her husband, the Very Rev. Al Crumpton IV, T'11 (right), were determined to graduate from the seminary without student debt. Scholarships helped them reach that goal.

Valerie Crumpton, T’11, describes herself as organized, but says she knows better than to lean heavily into expectations. “You tell God your plans, and He will laugh and say, ‘You think you know, but you don’t!’” Though Crumpton’s path to ministry has included a number of unanticipated twists, she is firm in her appreciation for the journey. She’s also steadfast in her gratitude for Sewanee’s School of Theology, where she earned an M.A. in theology, and her husband, the Very Rev. Al Crumpton IV, T’11, earned an M.Div. The Crumptons now support the seminary with a recurring gift to scholarships and financial aid, and Val will soon finish a three-term tenure on the University’s Board of Trustees. “Sewanee formed our personalities, our character,” she says. “It’s where we met God fully.”

Concert tickets for top-tier musicians can be notoriously expensive, not to mention difficult to acquire. For those seeking an immersive audio experience, Tandy Lewis, C’80, P’15, P’19, has a practical suggestion: visit the William Ralston Music Listening Library, located on the second floor of Sewanee’s Jessie Ball duPont Library. 

Boasting state-of-the-art stereo equipment and a collection of more than 20,000 LPs and 20,000 CDs, the space regularly attracts music enthusiasts from on and off the Mountain. “To me, the Ralston room is as close to live music as you’re going to get without the performer being in the room with you,” Lewis says.

Another advantage of the Ralston Library—unlike a live performance, Sewanee’s facility is designed to last forever, at least in theory. In 2019, an endowed fund was established to sustain the space in perpetuity, but additional support is needed to ensure sufficient staffing and cover costs associated with programming and equipment maintenance. Recently, Lewis provided a major gift toward the Ralston endowment, and he has joined with Ed Crawford, C’72, and Jimmy Hungerpiller, C’78, P’12, to encourage contributions to the fund.

Tandy Lewis, C'80, P'15, P'19 (right) says he and his son, Brant Lewis, C'19 (left), are both "music junkies," and Sewanee's Ralston Music Listening Library is an invaluable resource.

Doug Cameron was raised in Sewanee and graduated from Sewanee Military Academy in 1965 before earning a B.A. at Harvard University.

“I’m a volunteer nut,” Doug Cameron told The Sewanee Purple in a February 1983 interview. “I often wonder what it was in my upbringing that makes me see something that needs to be done and do it.” Cameron, who passed away on May 22, devoted boundless energy and enthusiasm to wide-ranging leadership roles, including a five-decade tenure on the Sewanee Volunteer Fire Department, over 30 years as a Sewanee emergency medical technician, and a lengthy career as an outdoor activity instructor. From 1973 to 1996, he served on the faculty of St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School, and he founded the school’s outing program. He also coached Sewanee’s canoe team and led the Sewanee Outing Program (SOP). Gifts to the SOP in Cameron’s memory can be made here. In the designation field, select “Other,” and note “Sewanee Outing Program.”

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The University of the South • Office of University Relations • waystogive.sewanee.edu

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