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Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University

Establish New Academic Programs and Enhance Existing Ones That Foster Learning, Engagement and Character

No curriculum or field of knowledge can remain static if it is to prepare students for their lives and work ahead. Just as Robert E. Lee did during his presidency, the University seeks to engage and challenge its students by supporting and establishing innovative programs that are rooted in its core traditions. Gifts for new programs and enhancements for existing ones intensifies the educational experience of students ensuring that they encounter new ideas and perspectives, grow intellectually, add to their stock of experience, and perfect their skills.

  • Bringing Out the Best
    Tom McJunkin '70
    The family and friends of Tom McJunkin ’70, ’74L knew him as a champion for education and community building in his hometown of Charleston, W.Va. Those passions compose a legacy he also wanted to leave his beloved alma mater.
  • Educating the Whole Person
    The Shepherd Program and Campus Kitchen
    Alumni and parents support experiential learning programs.
  • Washington Term: Truly Exemplary
    John Ebner '91; Bruce and Julie Thomas P'12
    John Ebner '91 and Bruce and Julie Thomas P'12 believe so strongly in the Washington Term Program that they are supporting it with their donations. The program, directed by William Connelly, the John K. Boardman Professor of Politics, combines the practical experience of an internship with academic studies and lectures to enhance students’ understanding of national politics and governance.
  • Fostering A Love of Art
    Alison and Jamie Small '81
    Alison and Jamie Small '81, of Midland, Texas, have made a $100,000 challenge gift to a new endowment fund that Washington and Lee has established in memory of Pamela Hemenway Simpson, the Ernest Williams II Professor of Art History, who died in October 2011.
  • The Entrepreneurship Program
    Incredible Preparation
    Washington and Lee's new Entrepreneurship Program has received generous support from Alex McAlister '82 and his wife, Susan, and from Harry and Mary Anne Bennett, parents of David Bennett '91, Andrew Bennett '12 and Katie Bennett '14.
  • A Gleeful Send-Off:
    The Gordon P. Spice Endowment Fund for Music
    On May 19, 2012, more than 175 alumni, guests and friends flocked to campus for the retirement party of beloved music professor Gordon Spice. One of the highlights of the event was the presentation of a check for more than $100,000 to "Doc" Spice to establish the Gordon P. Spice Endowment Fund for Music.
  • Donors Honor Prof. John M. Evans
    Billy Webster '79, Thad Ellis '82, P'14, Craig Jones '73, Michael R. McAlevey '86 and H. Lamar "Mickie" Mixson '70
    One of W&L’s most distinctive qualities is the close, often lifelong relationships it nurtures between professors and students. These alumni honor their former English professor, who has not one, but three funds to benefit students in his name at W&L, with their gifts to the campaign.
  • More Scientists
    Alison and Jamie Small ’81, P’15
    Jamie Small '81, P'15, and his wife, Alison Small P'15, hope their enthusiasm for science will prove contagious among future W&L students. That's why the couple gave a substantial gift to endow first-year seminars in the sciences.
  • Vitally Important Skills
    Ross Singletary ’89
    Many people list speaking in public at the top of their list of things they fear. For Ross Singletary '89, however, public-speaking classes at W&L were a high point in his academic career. An economics major, Singletary says former speech professor Halford Ross Ryan helped him understand that good oral-communication skills are key to personal and professional success in any field.
  • Meaningful to Help Others
    Susan and Littleton W. Roberts ’53
    Though Littleton W. Roberts Jr. '53 graduated from W&L more than 50 years ago, his affection for and connection to the University remain as strong as ever. In gratitude for W&L's lasting impact on his personal and professional successes, Roberts and his wife, Susan, recently provided in their wills a gift of more than $1 million to establish the Littleton Waller Roberts Jr. and Susan Fleming Roberts Scholarship. They hope their gift will help the University continue its tradition of excellence and be positioned to attract the finest students.
  • Honoring Joseph Goldsten
    Fred Turpin ’90, Kirsten Baker Lockyer ’93 and Charlie Lockyer ’93
    For Charlie Lockyer '93 and Fred Turpin '90, Joseph Goldsten, the retired finance professor, is one of those teachers who went the extra mile and made a difference in their lives. Both men say that Goldsten provided guidance about the financial world that ultimately helped them secure their first jobs out of college.
  • Help for and from Students
    Linda and Whitlow Wyatt ’70, P’08
    Linda and Whitlow Wyatt '70 have a heart for young people and a passion for W&L. That's why they've committed a significant, twofold gift for the Wyatt Endowment for Counseling and the Wyatt Teacher Education Endowment. They hope the donation will strengthen W&L's academic programs while also providing a safe place for students struggling with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
  • Understanding the Broader World
    Craig Owens ’76
    Craig Owens '76, the senior vice president, chief financial officer and chief administrative officer of Campbell Soup Co., in Camden, N.J., spent most of his career overseas. "I spent 17 years in Europe and have raised my family in an international environment," says Owens. "The experience has been invaluable to my own children. It is essential that W&L graduates have access to and understanding of an international environment." To that end, Owens has made a significant commitment toward the Class of 1976 Fund for International Studies, which Owens and other classmates established in honor of their 25th reunion.
  • Broadening the Academic Experience
    Rick Marshall ’61
    Professors have enduring influence when their excitement and passion for the subjects they teach generates interest and curiosity among students. For Rick Marshall '61, that memorable and inspirational professor was John McKenzie Gunn '45, the Lewis Whitaker Adams Professor of Economics Emeritus.
  • Approach Life with a Smile
    Jerry Maatman ’78
    Gerald "Jerry" Maatman '78 hasn't forgotten what he learned at W&L from his beloved mentor and golf coach, Emmett G. "Buck" Leslie '49. To celebrate Leslie's impact on his life, Maatman has given $100,000 to endow a scholarship fund honoring the coach.
  • Valuing Internships
    Jane Gilday P'11
    Many things about Washington and Lee impress Jane Gilday, with the Honor System, professors and classes at the top of the list. The experience last summer of her son, Jeff Roberts '11, as an intern at Deutsche Bank in New York, also makes the list.
  • A Global World
    Jim Boardman '65 and Billy Webster '79
    Jim Boardman '65 and Billy Webster '79 make international experiences a reality for W&L students.
  • The Integrity of the Place
    Ramsey Martin
    Ramsey Martin, professor emeritus of philosophy, and his wife Joan have established a planned gift of $100,000 to create an endowment that will support undergraduate education at W&L.
  • duPont Hall to Become Center for Global Learning
    As a central component of the strategic plan and the campaign, the renovation of duPont Hall into the Center for Global Learning will transform international education at W&L.
  • Fighting Poverty through Education
    Larry Connolly ’79
    Frustrated by the lack of progress in reducing domestic poverty, Larry Connolly '79 looked to Washington and Lee to be part of the solution.
  • Journalist Roger Mudd '50 Donates $4 Million to W&L for Study of Ethics
    Award-winning journalist Roger Mudd, a 1950 graduate of Washington and Lee University, has given $4 million to his alma mater to establish a new center to study ethics.
  • Issuing a Challenge for the Third-Year Law Reform
    John '65L and Ruth Huss Provide $2 Million to the School of Law
    After announcing a sweeping reform of the third-year curriculum last year, Washington and Lee's School of Law received strong endorsements for the novel approach from many quarters. Then, earlier this year, the school received a major financial boost with the announcement of a $2-million gift to support the efforts to change the way third-year students prepare for the transition from law students to legal practitioners.
  • Young Donors Make Giving a Priority
    Sonia Siu '07 may live in New York City, but she hasn't forgotten the community that helped nurture her as a W&L student. Siu recently gave $10,000 for the Friends of Rockbridge (FOR), which enables Shepherd Poverty Program students to serve Rockbridge County.
  • Honoring the Student-Athlete
    W&L has sent a lot of Brookbys into the world.
  • Graduation Gift Will Benefit Others
    Katie Harris ’10 got more than a bachelor’s degree in business administration from W&L.
  • Training for the Profession
    Jessine Monaghan ’79L, inspired by the generosity of Gerry Lenfest ’53, ’55L and John Huss ’65L, structured a gift to the Law School’s third-year curriculum that tripled her donation.
  • Public Interest and Philanthropy
    The late Robert Mosbacher ’47, ’49L, U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1989 to 1992, gained renown and respect for his work in politics and the oil business.
  • Mapping the Way
    Dr. John Simmons ’69 is an otolaryngologist in Jasper, Ala. At W&L, by his own admission, he spread himself thin during his first couple of years as a pre-med major.
  • Washington and Lee Receives Mellon Grant for New Spring Term
    W&L received a $650,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to enhance the educational effectiveness of the four-week Spring Term, which debuted in 2010 and introduced 119 new courses.
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers Charitable Foundation
    Thanks to the efforts of its chair, Prof. Elizabeth Oliver, the Accounting Department received a $50,000 grant from the PricewaterhouseCoopers Charitable Foundation to incorporate international financial reporting standards into the curriculum.
  • Henry-Stone Awarded Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Studies
    Laura Henry-Stone received a grant for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in environmental studies from the Associated Colleges of the South and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
  • The Halle Foundation Awards Grant for German Language Immersion
    The Halle Foundation gave W&L $52,618 to increase the number and diversity of students taking language immersion in Germany, and to add a third location of study.
  • Helping the Environment and W&L
    "W&L's Environmental Studies Program gives future leaders the incentive and the knowledge to preserve the natural resources we have left."