Donor's gifts now total $7.2 million

By SUZANNE CHAMBERLAIN
Reporter Contributor

An anonymous donor has given another $800,000 to the Distinguished Honors Scholars Program, bringing to $7.2 million the donor's total gifts to this program, and reaffirming a true commitment to educating tomorrow's leaders.

In 1995, a $1.6 million gift from the anonymous donor initiated the program, which has enjoyed $800,000 annual gifts from the same donor ever since. These gifts—which pay for tuition, room, board, books, travel and fees—have supported 119 students total, including 53 alumni and 14 students who will graduate in May.

"We are grateful for the donor's generous gifts which, when shared with these highly motivated students, have resulted in even greater synergy than we had expected, integral to UB's growing reputation as a major public research university," said Josephine A. Capuana, administrative director for the University Honors Program. "These students are truly among UB's gifts to the future."

After graduating from UB, these students continue to distinguish themselves, pursuing occupations or professional and graduate studies ranging from mathematics to medicine, music to law, whether they choose to attend other schools or remain at UB.

Some have earned nationally competitive fellowships; one will use a Mellon Fellowship to study English literature at Stanford, while two others have won National Science Foundation Fellowships—one to study at MIT and the other to attend the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

The Distinguished Honors Scholars, while a smaller select group of students, are part of the larger University Honors Program, which offers students special seminars and colloquia, research opportunities and faculty mentoring, as well as financial assistance.

The anonymous donor's gift contributes to UB's $250 million campaign, one of the largest ever conducted by a public university in New York and New England. Although it's the fifth major fund-raising campaign conducted by UB, it's the first national/international, university-wide and alumni-driven campaign with volunteer leaders from all over the country. Funds raised will be used to enrich academic programs, support students ranging from undergraduates to post-doctoral students and to enhance university life.