Spring 2004

by Jeanne Nagle


There are as many reasons to fund a scholarship as there are people who endow them. This year, four new scholarships honor a brilliant
young man who loved to travel, optimism and leadership, the tremendous spirit of a Hobart and William Smith staffer, and one matriarch’s
hope for the future. Whatever the motivation, such gifts have one thing in common—they truly make a difference, as the following prove:

» The Craig M. Stevens ’85 Scholarship Fund
Sponsor: Craig Stevens ’85
What motivated you to establish the scholarship?
• I’m not one for putting my name on a building or anything like that. I really
wanted to help kids have the opportunity to attend the Colleges.

What would you like to say to the recipient?
• Don’t take it all too seriously. Have a good time. Meet friends; enjoy
Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

What would you say to someone thinking about endowing
a scholarship?
• This is extremely important. You never know when you’re going to
make a difference.

»Recipient: Elizabeth Meadows ’07 (Middletown, R.I.)
Major(s)/minor(s): Possibly art history, or biology and photography

In what ways do you think you meet the criteria?
• I have a positive outlook. I am always willing and ready to get involved, and I
encourage my peers to do the same.

What would you like to say to the person who established the scholarship?
• Thank you! You have made a huge difference in my life.

What would you say to someone thinking about endowing a scholarship?
• It supplies one more student with an education for life. It makes more than a
small difference!

» The Elias Koch ’98 Memorial Scholarship in History and Study Abroad
Sponsors: Noel and June Koch, Parents of Elias Koch ’98
Why did you decide that a scholarship at HWS would be an appropriate tribute to Elias?
• [Noel Koch] Because he attended HWS and he grew there. He was a
young man with a very fine mind, and HWS helped him learn to use it to his
best advantage. The school also gave him the opportunity to travel abroad.

How easy was it to establish the scholarship?
• It was quite easy. Our desires have been met as we had wished.

What would you like to say to the recipient?
• I would like others, including the scholarship recipients, to know about
Elias. He was stunningly funny, with a dry, wry wit. He traveled and studied
in Russia and Israel. He loved learning, loved history, especially his own.

What would you say to someone who is thinking about endowing
a scholarship?
• I would encourage endowment as a living memorial. I am not much
interested in bricks and mortar, but what serves the mind – put to proper
use – serves mankind throughout all time.

»Recipient: Kathryn Weagraff ’05 (Fulton, N.Y.)
Major/Minors: History/Education and American studies

How does it feel to be the first recipient of this scholarship?
• I’m proud to be the first recipient of the scholarship, but I also feel extremely
fortunate.

What does being awarded the scholarship mean to you?
• The scholarship emphasizes the benefits of attending a small liberal arts college. It is proof that the Colleges support study-abroad programs, including my own recent experience in New Zealand.

What would you like to say to the person who established the scholarship?
• This scholarship contributed to a four-month experience abroad that
reached me on several levels. I am grateful.

What would you say to someone thinking about endowing a scholarship?
• It’s so unfortunate when an opportunity to study abroad is missed because
of the cost. Whether the scholarship covers airfare or simply a bus
pass, every little bit helps.

» The June W. Kuryla Scholarship
Sponsor: Stuart Piltch ’82
Why did you establish the scholarship in June’s name?
• June was the secretary in the financial aid office. We became friends
through my trips there, and we became family over the years.

What motivated you to establish the scholarship?
• My wife and I wanted to come up with a way of celebrating her retirement,
recognizing her importance to our family.

What would you like to say to the recipient?
• Enjoy it. Make the most out of it. And walk down the street and meet
June Kuryla.

What would you say to someone thinking about endowing a scholarship?
• If you want to perpetuate the institution, a scholarship is a great way
to do it.

» Recipient: Emily Schmerbeck ’05 (Rochester, N.Y.)
Major/Minor: History/Education

How does it feel to be the first recipient of this scholarship?
• To even be considered for such a scholarship is an honor, but to actually
become the recipient is both an honor and a blessing.

What would you like to say to the person who established this scholarship?
• I would like to thank him for the financial support and the genuine concern he
has demonstrated for students at HWS.

What would you say to someone thinking about endowing a scholarship?
• I would strongly recommend he or she consider the possibilities a scholarship
would create. With these endless possibilities, it would be very difficult
to argue that even the tiniest scholarship would fail to make a difference.

» The Helen Doran Cooney ’31 Endowed Scholarship
Sponsor: Helen Doran Cooney ’31
What motivated you to establish the scholarship?
• [Anne Cooney ’63] My mother put money into an annuity.

What would you like to say to the first recipient?
• I hope that his education is as formative as the education of members of
my family at the Colleges, and that he takes in all the possibilities of learning
new things.

What would you say to someone thinking about endowing a scholarship?
• I went all the way through college on a scholarship. My son, Jeremy
Cooney ’04, has always had scholarships, too. It’s made all the difference.

» Recipient: Costas Gioules ’06 (Greenfield, Mass.)
Major: Undeclared—possibly math or biology

What does receiving this scholarship mean to you?
• It shows that the work I’m doing is really paying off. Getting a scholarship helps your confidence, in the sense that I’m obviously doing something right.

What would you like to say to the person who established this scholarship?
• I’d like to thank her for giving students the ability to continue their education at Hobart and William Smith, and I hope she continues to do this in the future.

What would you say to someone thinking about endowing a scholarship?
• There are students out there who want to learn but their financial situation
doesn’t allow them to get an education. Any support you can give motivates
students to work hard and make something of their academic career.

Fall 2004

by Darlene Palmer


Internships have become a critical component to finding the "right" job after graduation. They provide students with three essentials for employment: work experience, letters of recommendation and networking opportunities. As employers look to fill the few entry-level positions they have in the current economic climate, they want new hires with pertinent experience--making interning a necessary part of college life.

It's no wonder, then, that the staff of the Salisbury Center for Career Services has made internships a top priority. "Internships make students stand out in a pool," said Bob Murphy, director of the Center. "Students who have performed internships are much more competitive in the job market."

As a result of research into the best practices of other liberal arts institutions, Career Services has launched Pathways, a comprehensive program designed to help HWS students track their progress toward career-readiness throughout their four years at the Colleges.

By design, Pathways becomes progressively personalized to the individual each year. Students, aided by a career counselor, assess their interests, values and skills. They then use that assessment to discover a career-field match.

Once a student has identified a field to explore, he or she validates that choice through an internship experience. Finally, they use connections made during the internship to help secure a job after graduation. Pathways utilizes a multipronged approach to creating internship opportunities. The first is the establishment of proprietary internships, which are created by parent, alumni and alumnae contacts. These internships are offered solely to students enrolled at the Colleges.

"We have contacts in many outstanding organizations in the U.S., in careers that cross all major industries," said Murphy. "Networking with our parents and alums is essential."

Currently, 1,700 individuals generously serve as volunteer Career Services Contacts, Murphy notes. Career Services is looking to boost that number this academic year, resulting in at least four to five times its current volunteer base of Career Service Contacts.

Career networking is definitely not limited to people who offer internship positions. Parents, alumni and alumnae willing to assist in informational interviews, provide networking contacts in a given profession or offer a shadowing opportunity are also critical to the mix. Also highly sought are individuals willing to mentor third-year students.

Career Services would like to extend contacts in communities across New York State, as well as in HWS-connected metropolitan areas throughout the country.

"We have students from all over the country, and we'd like our students to be able to do internships or externships at home over the summer as well," said Mary Schneiter, Career Services internship coordinator. "Externships conducted, say, for one day a week for several weeks are still a resume builder."

Another area of importance is endowed internships. "The money from endowed internship stipends could be used for living expenses, transportation, a computer or for the whole internship," said Schneiter. "It's for whatever will increase the value of the experience."

Thanks to commitments from alums such as Hank Bowman '64, Trustee Tom Melly '52 L.H.D. '02, and Trustee John Ross '66, students in need of financial assistance now have the opportunity to receive an endowed internship. Over the next three years, Career Services hopes to establish additional positions. Actual stipends awarded to students will vary according to the need of the student.

"At the end of the day, the highest yield for internships is in our family of parents, alumnae and alumni," said Murphy. "We're very excited about the possibilities, and we hope to be very busy securing internships from these sources throughout the year."

Summer 2004

by Susan Murad


Dedication of The Salisbury Center at Trinity Hall took place under sunny skies on Saturday, April 24. Colleges President Mark Gearan noted the history of this second-oldest building on campus by reading a petition from Hobart students from the 1800s requesting an inside door and lanterns in hallways of Trinity. Today's Trinity Hall, he said, is a bright, modern space housing The Salisbury Center?home to the offices of career services and public service and the Center for Global Education.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees and lead donor for the project Charles H. Salisbury Jr. '63, P'94, along with his wife Edith "Bunny" and daughter Katherine '94, cut the ribbon signifying the official opening of The Salisbury Center. Additional financial support for the renovations was provided by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.

In his remarks at the dedication, Salisbury thanked the crowd for their support and enthusiasm for this project. "The goals of this building and three relatively small staffs are ambitious," Salisbury said. "However, the history of Hobart and William Smith, especially the recent history of these Colleges, is one of looking opportunity and challenge in the eye and then making others sit back and take notice of this small institution with a rich history and big ambitions for the future.

I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to, in part, make this building a reality as another indication of my support for the continuing aspirations and momentum of these Colleges."

For more information on The Salisbury Center visit the Web site.

Fall 2003

by Catherine Williams


Earlier this year, as an outcome of the 2005 planning initiative, the colleges embarked on a major exploration of the role campus housing plays in the education of HWS students. One of the first outcomes of this work will be the construction of two new residence halls. To be built on Emerson Hill, the 174-bed halls will form a quad-like neighborhood adjoining Emerson and McCormick. The need for new residence halls does not reflect a change in the number of students admitted to the colleges, but rather results from a campus-wide commitment to adapt to the shifting needs of students. Emerson Hall, which was constructed in 1969, was the last traditional hall built on campus. "Student living is different now than it was 10 years ago," says Jim M. Flader, the Colleges new director of residential education. "In order to stay competitive, we must create environments that do more than house students. We need spaces that facilitate learning/living opportunities.

"Learning/living" opportunities connect the dots between the classroom and the residence hall. To effectively engage students, residence halls must contain functional shared spaces that allow resident advisors and first year seminar instructors to gather with groups of students, quiet study rooms where students can meet to work collaboratively, common entrances that give a residence hall a sense of identity, updated baths, and a reasonable ratio of space per student. "We want to develop communities composed of multiple class years," says Dean of William Smith Debra DeMeis. "We want to see mentoring relationships developing between first year and upper-class students.'

In order to create an "even more cohesive and harmonious living and learning community," as recommended in the HWS 2005 planning initiative, the Colleges have also undertaken the renovation of three existing halls- Geneva, Comstock and Hirshon. Rehabilitation of JPR (Jackson, Potter and Rees, also known as Super Dorm) is under investigation. "It's pure programmatics," DeMeis explains. "We simply do not have the right kind of living spaces. That may be acceptable at other colleges, but it is not acceptable here."

In her second year as a resident advisor, Donna Richardson '05 agrees with the Colleges' decision to incest in housing. "The new residence halls and the renovations are a great idea," she says. "With more options, more students will stay on campus, which I think is important. When you're off-campus you become really distanced from what's going on, from the new students and the events; you loose contact."

DeMeis adds, "When students are comfortable with their housing situation, larger issues, like retention and academic excellence, are positively impacted."

Winter 2003

by Catherine Williams


For those who create endowed scholarship opportunities for Hobart and William Smith students, the rewards are many: the ability to transform lives, the opportunity to ensure the perpetuity of education, the certain knowledge that the gift will be managed carefully, and most immediately, the occasion to witness and measure the power of philanthropy. Each year, many Hobart and William Smith donors responsible for the Colleges’ scholarships return to campus to meet those whose lives they have changed. It is a delightful experiences for both the donors and the recipients- and opportunity to share stories and goals, to give and receive advice, to establish friendship[s, and to connect across generations. In the fall of 2002, the College’s celebrated many such occasions, including three when first- time scholarships were awarded.

» The Allison B. Morrow ’76 Scholarship was established by gifts in honor of the marriage of Allison B. Morrow ’76 to Jonathan L. Cohen on November 21, 1998. The income is awarded to a Hobart or William Smith student with exceptional academic ability. Bo Randall ’06, from Brewerton, N.Y., is the first recipient of the scholarship. Bo would like to pursue a career in allopathic and osteopathic medicine. Randall said: “It was wonderful to actually meet someone who actually cares about education today. At first I was a little intimidated because Ms. Morrow is a very influential person, but after a minute of talking, I was put at ease. We talked about everything- why I came here, where I’m headed, current events. I hope it was gratifying for her to see that I’m happy and that I value my education.”

» The Hobart Class of 1950 Endowed Scholarship was created by the class of 1950 in honor of their reunion. The income is used for hard working, deserving Hobart students. Joshua Douglas ’03, from Portland, Maine, is the scholarships first recipient and an economics major. Douglas said: “This is obviously a big help financially. More than that, though, it was great to meet someone who came from Hobart- to see the oath he has taken and to discuss where I would like to go with my degree. Dr. Small gave me his address and asked me to drop him a line four or five years down the road to let him know how I’m doing. I intend to.”

» The Dr. Gordon E. ’38 and Anita D. ’40 Van Hooft Scholarship was established by Gordon Van Hooft ’38 in memory of his wife Anita ’40. The income from this scholarship provides aid to students with academic promise. Preference is given to students from Clifton Springs, N.Y. Stefani McGregor ’06, from Geneva, N.Y., is the first recipient. Interested in biology, she hopes to one day work in genetic research. McGregor said: “It was great to meet Dr. Van Hooft because it really gave the scholarship a personable feeling. Instead of just being the Van Hooft Scholar, I now understand that the gift is in his wife’s memory. It makes a big difference in how I think about the scholarship.”