Thad Ellis ‘82
Giving back to Washington and Lee is a small way to say “thank you” for a great experience that has paid dividends since graduating more than 25 years ago. It is also a means to support our outstanding university with confidence that it will remain strong and even improve. We are in the middle of the most challenging economic times that most of us have ever experienced. Concurrently, our churches, synagogues, children’s schools, charities and numerous other capital campaigns all need our help. It is a real challenge to balance our priorities with respect to our contributions. I encourage my peers and friends of the University to consistently participate in the Annual Fund regardless of the amount. If more of us participate at some level, we can give more as a group than during better economic times when fewer participated.
Washington and Lee has become a stronger university with each new generation. The success of the Annual Fund has a direct impact on W&L’s future. Giving back to our great school is a genuine way of saying thanks.
Andy McCutcheon ‘48
Sixty-three years ago I enrolled at Washington and Lee University, carrying my rough West Virginia edges to Lexington and the land of the coat and tie. I had spent a year at the University of Tennessee, playing on a Rose Bowl football team but not finding the journalism course of study I wanted. After a year in the Navy I had a choice to make: back to UT or move on. I credit my Dad for my choice of W&L. He never went to college but became a respected accountant through relentless, late night study of Prentice-Hall textbooks. Somehow he came to know about W&L and to respect the place, and he imparted that respect to me. In a life of many decisions, some good, some bad, W&L was one of my best.
For more than 22 years I have been an agent for the class of 1948, encouraging my classmates to give to the university through the Annual Fund and employing the usual selling points:
- How Annual Fund dollars help reduce student tuition costs;
- How our beautiful, white-columned but aging campus requires regular upkeep;
- How W&L’s strong academic reputation has helped them in their careers;
- How committed professors are still there to listen to the students’ academic woes;
- How a good record of alumni giving could help the school obtain major foundation gifts;
- And how the W&L degree stamps them as an instant leader in their community.
I suspect, however, that most of us give for a more fundamental reason: we know that from W&L came a philosophy of unselfishness we have carried forward in our lives. George Washington gave shares of stock in the James River and Kanawha Canal Company to the school because he didn’t think he should accept them. Robert E. Lee, when he couldn’t save his state, chose to help save a nation. A strong honor system has reinforced that philosophy. I have had my own moral mishaps and ethical lapses but in trying to live a life of good behavior one factor stands out: I did not want to embarrass Washington and Lee. Our environment of honor surrounds us still.
David K. Weaver ‘60A
Honor, integrity, and civility are values instilled in us as Washington and Lee students. These values continue to be building blocks for students today, made possible, in part, by the ongoing support of the university through the Annual Fund. As a 1960 graduate, I remain enthusiastic and supportive of the school and am fortunate to be the Class of ’60’s Class Agent, now in my 16th year, as well as to have been a member of the Alumni Board of Directors for four years. For those who are unable to give back to the university with their time, certainly supporting the Annual Fund offers an underlying guarantee that those core values we still hold so dear are carried on with today’s graduates, values they will need even more in today’s world. Contributing to our alma mater as much as we are able is more important than ever.
Nan Robertson Clarke, 73L
My husband Hal and I consider it a privilege as well as a responsibility to support Washington and Lee’s Annual Fund. When we were law students in the seventies, wrestling with constitutional law and complaining about 8 a.m. classes, we never stopped to think what made that extraordinary experience possible. Even back then, tuition did not cover the full cost of a W&L education, let alone those extracurriculars like the Law Review and Law News that meant so much to us. We realize now that it was the generosity of earlier law alumni who – without knowing us personally – believed in us and supported our dreams to become the best-educated professionals we could possibly be. So that’s why we give to the Annual Fund: It’s our turn to directly support the next generation of W&L law students and give them the same advantages we had. As Justice Powell put it, “There is no place quite like Washington and Lee.”
Robert H. Moll ‘68
I am a firm believer in the Annual Fund because it gives me an opportunity to repay some fraction of my indebtedness to Washington and Lee for the education and growth it provided me. My Washington and Lee years prepared me well for law school and a legal career. However, what I have appreciated perhaps even more is that my course work with great teachers such as Dean Pusey, and Professors Coulling, Colvin, Futch, Dickens, Youngblood, Stewart, and others too numerous to mention instilled in me a life-long interest in learning about history, political systems, languages and music. Although I will never be able to fully repay the debt I owe for these benefits that I treasure, I will continue to give back by supporting the Annual Fund as strongly as I am able.
Another reason why I like to participate in the Annual Fund is because I know the kind of things the Annual Fund is spent on, such as lab equipment, new computers (and keeping them in good repair), classroom supplies, new library books (and preserving old ones.) Knowing this, I feel a strong sense of connection to and participation in the life of the University. I expect others feel the same, too.
I know that every alumnus and alumna will, like me, have his or her own particular reasons for treasuring Washington and Lee. If we love our special school in Lexington, we should provide the financial support needed to preserve and improve its financial health. To my mind the Annual Fund is one of the most effective ways to do so. I hope each of you will join me in giving as generously as you can to the Annual Fund.
Jack Wells ‘82
There are many reasons why I support the Annual Fund at W&L. First, I take pride in being a part of the W&L community and I want that community to continue to thrive and be the best that it can be. To that end, the Annual Fund supports the school and directly impacts the school’s ability to attract the best and brightest students in the country. I want to see W&L’s stature and reputation achieve the highest levels possible.
Second, I have a deep affection and respect for the history of W&L as an institution and for the traditions that George Washington and Robert E. Lee established, by virtue of their example of gentlemanly conduct as the ideal for all students. The Honor Code and the Speaking Tradition are unique and to be celebrated.
Third, each time I visit Lexington I never cease to be thrilled by the beauty of our campus. The front lawn, Lee Chapel, and the Colonnade are timeless in their beauty.
Finally, I support W&L through the Annual Fund as a way to say thank you. Thank you for four great years in Lexington, for a great liberal arts education and the chance to become friends with my teachers, for lifelong friends and unforgettable good times, and for helping prepare me for a successful career and life after school.
Gary Seldomridge ‘76
When I was student at W&L, my parents provided my tuition, allowing me to have a rewarding educational, athletic, and social opportunity to start my adult life. While at school, to my naïve surprise, I learned that tuition only covered a small portion of the cost of my experience. Gifts, endowment, and contributions to the Annual Fund by alumni, parents, and friends provided much of the yearly operational cost.
As an alumnus, I am proud that I attended a university that has continued to improve in all areas of academia and continues to build on an already solid foundation. Washington and Lee continually grows the qualities of integrity and leadership among its students. We alumni learned that lesson on campus, and it better equipped us for the rest of our lives.
The Annual Fund is critical in the yearly operation of the University. Many colleges and universities get by—or not—every year. Consider motto, Non Incautus Futuri, which we all know means “Not unmindful of the future.” Keep that in mind, and also, please by mindful of the present need.
Please, support this and every year’s Annual Fund Campaign.
