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Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University

Create a Campus for the 21st Century

Washington and Lee is blessed with one of the nation's most beautiful campuses-a place that evokes seemingly eternal images for generations of graduates. With maturity and the passage of years, alumni realize that these scenes are not in fact timeless, but rather are a gift from those who, over the last two centuries, created this magnificent campus. Inevitably, as the campus evolves, the details of the memories that future generations of students take with them will be different from those of past graduates. Nonetheless, by supporting the renewal of the campus, we ensure that the fundamental sense and spirit of these memories remains timeless, even as we provide for an unparalleled learning environment for today's students.

  • The Clarkes Bleed Blue and White
    Hal '73, '76L and Nan Clarke '76L
    "Washington and Lee has been an important part of our family's life over three generations. It is hard for us to think of our family and not think about the benefits of our W&L educations," says Hal Clarke '73, '76L.
  • Celebrating Landmark Reunions
    Class of 1962, Class of 1987
    To celebrate their 50th and 25th reunions last May, the Classes of 1962 and 1987 made special gifts to the University in support of the Colonnade renovation.
  • An Eye to the Future
    Alston Parker Watt '89
    Though college students tend to avoid signing up for early-morning classes, Alston parker Watt '89 says her first-year treks to an 8 a.m. Spanish class gave her the unexpected blessing of enjoying W&L's beauty and classical architecture. This experience cultivated within her an appreciation for the University's vibrant history.
  • A Passion for Art
    Dr. John Poyner '62
    In 1975, soon after leaving the Air Force, Dr. John Poynor '62 had a revelation. "I was sitting at the table, writing checks to pay my mortgage and utility bills. I realized that I wouldn't be able to pay those bills if not for my education," he says. "So since that time, I have been writing monthly checks to both Washington and Lee and my medical school." Poyner went on to establish the John W. Poynor M.D. Fund at W&L to provide assistance for the College, particularly to help the Department of Art and Art History to purchase contemporary works of art, which have been displayed in Wilson Hall and other venues around campus.
  • Preserving an Icon
    Jimmy Bent '82
    For Jimmy Bent '82 and his family, ties to W&L run deep. Not only did Bent enjoy close connections with his professors and peers as a student, but his parents, Jimmy and Patricia, also have formed friendships with faculty and other University devotees through their many adventures with W&L Traveller. Additionally, Bent's niece, Barbara Bent, enrolled at W&L this past fall.
  • Restoring a Garden of Memories
    Greyson and Garland Tucker '69, P'03
    Greyson and Garland Tucker '69, parents of Liza Tucker Koch '03, have made a significant lead gift to renovate the gardens of Belfield, the former Lexington home of the late Frank J. Gilliam, the beloved dean of students.
  • Expanding Horizons
    Dyson Foundation Makes $2.5 Million Grant to W&L for Center for Global Learning
    The Dyson Foundation of Millbrook, N.Y., has made a $2.5 million grant to Washington and Lee University to develop the University’s new Center for Global Learning.
  • A Sense of Permanence
    Eric A. Anderson ’82L
    Eric A. Anderson '82L, vice chairman of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) L.L.C., committed $250,000 for the Third-Year Law Building Addition. "This idea was a little avant garde, but you need to take chances to succeed," Anderson says of the third-year curriculum.
  • Obligation and Opportunity
    Richard H. Middleton Jr. ’73, ’76L
    Richard H. Middleton Jr. '73, '76L donated $600,000 toward the Third-Year Law Addition, designating his gift for the proposed trial courtroom. Middleton, a practicing trial attorney with the Middleton Firm in Savannah, Ga., returns to Lexington every spring, if he is not in court himself, to lecture in the Trial Practice class of adjunct professor Wilson (Wick) Vellines '68, '73L. Middleton therefore knows firsthand both the benefits and the requirements of the new program.
  • Worth Supporting and Preserving
    Andrea K. Wahlquist ’95L
    Andrea K. Wahlquist '95L, a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, a top-10 law firm in New York City, demonstrated her support of the Third-Year Program with a commitment of $100,000 for the Third-Year Law Building Addition. Wahlquist, a Virginia native who attended the University of Virginia as an undergraduate, looked for a more intimate environment for her law school experience.
  • A Terrific Legal Education
    Walter D. Kelley Jr. ’77, ’81L
    The Hon. Walter D. Kelley Jr. '77, '81L, a former United States District Court Judge, is now a partner in the Washington office of Jones Day, one of the largest law firms in the world. Kelley has made a six-figure commitment to the Lewis Hall building project, as well as a substantial gift to the Annual Fund.
  • Thinking of the Colonnade
    Stanley Doobin ’81, P’11, ’14, and Alston Parker Watt ’89
    Stanley Doobin '81 and Alston Parker Watt '89, along with her husband Philip Watt, have made generous contributions to the campaign for the Colonnade renovation.
  • Family Values
    The Ruscios and the Cronins
    Ken '76 and Kim Ruscio joined with Ken's sister, Judy Ruscio Cronin P'01, '05 and her husband, Brad, in designating a $100,000 gift to the Colonnade renovation in honor of their parents.
  • A Fitting Tribute in Newcomb Hall
    Harry Porter '54, professor of history at W&L from 1970 to 2008, inspired a love of history in many of his fellow graduates. One business major, in particular, greatly appreciated his passion for teaching and the small classes that provided a diversion from his study of accounting and economics.
  • A Visible Symbol
    Mike Missal '78
    MIke Missal's fond memories of his time in Newcomb Hall compelled him to make a significant gift to the Colonnade renovation project. One of the new third-floor seminar rooms in Newcomb bears his name, and he recently had the privilege of teaching a class there.
  • Connecting with Heritage
    Matt Cole '71
    Matt Cole missed the classroom so much that he changed careers in 1998, going from a post as a corporate treasurer to one as a history teacher. Today, as the assistant headmaster for development for the Wesleyan School in Norcross, Ga., Cole has found a way to blend his interest in academics with his business acumen.
  • Everything Old is New Again
    Buddy Kullman '58
    Wilfred M. (Buddy) Kullman Jr. dislikes looking back. "I prefer to keep moving forward. I like to keep my good memories. While I've always supported the University, I was just too busy to go back for a visit," says the senior vice president of wealth management at Smith Barney, in New Orleans. Finally, after 53 years, Kullman managed to return to W&L this spring--for the first time since his graduation.
  • A Powerful Unity: The Story of the Colonnade
    The front campus of Washington and Lee, better known as the Colonnade, is the result of a long journey—perhaps struggle might be a more apt term—that began in 1804 and did not take its present form for 132 years. That journey is far from complete today.
  • Where Teaching Happens
    Harry J. Phillips Jr. '72 is hardly a stranger to Washington and Lee's capital campaigns. He co-chaired the Houston-area committee that helped W&L raise $243 million during the For the Rising Generation campaign.
  • Restoring an Earlier Beauty
    As parents of alumni Peter '08 and Ben '09 and current student Christina '12, Sally and Larry Lawrence, of Greenwich, Conn., have grown enamored with the campus ever since Peter entered W&L in 2004.
  • The Face of the School
    Jamie Vardell '77 recalls that the last English course he took before graduating was from Ed Craun. It was somehow fitting that 33 years later, when Jamie's daughter, Brooks '10, completed her own W&L career, her last English course was taught by-Ed Craun.
  • Identifying with a Legacy
    With the addition of the John W. Elrod University Commons, the campus has changed a bit since the Class of 1985 graduated. What remains at its heart, however, and in the hearts of many alumni, is the historic Colonnade.
  • Lettie Pate Evans Foundation Gives $1 Million for Newcomb Hall Renovation
    The Lettie Pate Evans Foundation gave Washington and Lee $1 million toward the renovation and restoration of Newcomb Hall, the first building in the Colonnade project.
  • Numerous Foundations Support the Leyburn Library Renovation
    The renovated main floor of Leyburn Library, once a dark, cluttered area, now beckons with plenty of open space, natural light and student-approved furniture.
  • '59 Zebes Bring Back the Matzoh
    "When I make a donation, I am more interested in programs than a plaque on the wall," said Jerry Sklar. That's why he and his fraternity brothers from the Class of 1959 are making a donation that will help construct a building-and also revive a part of campus culture.