Dear Sewanee Family,
The countdown is on—in less than two weeks, we’ll flip the calendar to 2024! I hope the holiday season has brought joy and comfort to you and your family, and that you’re looking forward to an exciting new year.
Sewanee has grown relatively quiet since finals ended last week, and most of the campus is ready to settle down for a long winter’s nap. Here in the Division of University Relations, we can’t let the clock run out on 2023 without offering special thanks. We are deeply grateful to you—our generous University community—for the many ways you strengthened Sewanee’s mission and championed our students this year.
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Over the past 12 months, an astounding 2,566 of you have provided gifts to the Sewanee Fund—including 1,108 College alumni and 150 School of Theology alumni. Your kindness not only matters to our current students and seminarians, but it also helps the University offer exceptional academic and co-curricular experiences to future generations. It’s a beautiful gesture, and truly in the spirit of the season, to support those who will live and learn on the Mountain many years down the road.
If you have not yet given to Sewanee in 2023, there’s still time! You can make a gift online here or find more ways to donate at waystogive.sewanee.edu. Your philanthropy will position the University for growth and success in the year ahead.
Speaking of Sewanee’s future, our University Relations team hopes to add a new member this spring. We’re currently seeking a skilled Advancement Officer to assist our division in cultivating leadership-level prospective donors. If you’re interested in this opportunity, you can learn more and apply here.
It’s a privilege to spotlight the donors featured in this issue of Philanthropy and Engagement. If you have any feedback on our newsletter, please feel free to reach out to me at dsvaughn@sewanee.edu.
With best wishes for peace at Christmas and in 2024,
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Vice President for University Relations |
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Bill Stamler, C'56, Bequest Sets a Sewanee Record
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Bill Stamler, C’56, championed Sewanee throughout his life, and at his passing earlier this year, he left one of the largest bequests in the University’s history. A successful business executive, Stamler designated his gift for three purposes: establishing the Stamler Endowed Scholarship Fund to offer merit scholarships to undergraduates, supporting the University’s Babson Center for Global Commerce, and creating the Charles M. Boyd Endowed Chair in Economics Fund. Stamler’s daughter, Rose Mary Stamler Dow, says her father cherished his time as a Sewanee student, and later as a trustee and regent. “He believed in the value of higher education, and he believed in Sewanee and continually wanted to give back.”
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Ellen and Bill, C'56, Stamler
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| Philanthropy in Action
Sewanee Alumni and Friends Support the University Through Impactful Gifts
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School of Theology Hamilton Hall Renovations
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The Rev. Canon Doris Westfall, T'05
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“My family didn't grow up with much money, but what we do give, I think we give with great love and with no strings attached."
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"I wouldn't be living and working in the United States now if it weren't for Sewanee. It's almost miraculous that I ended up here. I'm eternally grateful."
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Cindy and Bran Potter Field Studies Endowment
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“One thing I learned from my father is that you should give back to your community. I see Sewanee as my community."
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Endowed Scholarship Fund Honors W. Brown Patterson, C'52, H'12
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At a reception during Installation Weekend, Vice-Chancellor Rob Pearigen, C’76, joined Nick B. Williams Professor of English Bill Engel in announcing the establishment of the W. Brown Patterson Scholarship Fund. The need-based endowed fund honors the legacy of W. Brown Patterson, C’52, H’12, emeritus professor of history and former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, whom Pearigen described as “the epitome of the gentleman scholar.”
Along with celebrating Patterson’s distinguished career, the event served as a launch for Researching the Reformation: Essays in Honor of W.B. Patterson, co-edited by Engel and including essays by Associate Professor of English Ross MacDonald and retired Samuel R. Williamson Distinguished University Professor of English Pamela Macfie. The reception was live-streamed and can be viewed here.
Gifts to the Patterson Fund can be made by visiting support.sewanee.edu, selecting “Other” as your designation, and entering “W. Brown Patterson Scholarship Fund.”
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Vice-Chancellor Rob Pearigen, C'76, with Emeritus Professor of History W. Brown Patterson, C'52, H'12
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*To contribute to the Patterson Fund, select "Other" as your designation and enter "W. Brown Patterson Scholarship Fund"
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Exornati Alumni, C'67, Push Reunion Project Past $1 Million
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Joel Smith, John Taylor, Paul Frantz, and Lee Thomas, all C’67, didn’t often cross paths during their years on the Mountain, but they’re now united by an impressive accomplishment—at their 55th reunion last year, they secured nearly $1.3 million for an endowed scholarship named in memory of their classmate Albert Sidney “Bert” Polk, C’67. The four alumni launched their fundraising effort five years earlier, as a 50th reunion project. In honor of their success, they were presented with Sewanee’s Exornati Alumni Award in 2022.
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Each December, Sewanee holds a Benefactors’ Brunch to thank donors who have established or contributed to scholarships and internships for our undergraduates and seminarians. The event is attended by both benefactors and student beneficiaries, and the program includes remarks from students who have received funding. This year’s powerful speeches—delivered by Bahley Minor, C’22, T’25; Silas McClung, C’24; Adelle Dennis, C’21, T’26; and Cuca Ramírez Miranda, C’24—reminded us that our students’ achievements are connected to your achievements and the ways you choose to give back. Thank you for shaping the stories of our 1,687 undergraduates and seminarians through your generosity.
You can watch a recording of the event here and learn about Sewanee’s scholarship needs here.
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