Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Everything Counts

How recurring gifts from alumni add up.

BY TONY REID ’ 79

“Further Together: the Campaign for Our Third Century” began with a bang. Following a collective $100 million gift from a small group of alumni, Hobart and William Smith’s most ambitious capital campaign launched last spring. In the months since, HWS has seen record support — including a 35 percent increase in Stewardson Society membership in just the past year.

The Stewardson Society is comprised of donors who make recurring pledges. Whether it’s $10 a month, $100 every six months, or $500 annually, “the power of each gift adds up over time and has impact,” says Dulcie Meyer P’20, executive director of annual and athletic giving.

For HWS, the Stewardson Society means regular, reliable support for everything from scholarships to specific academic departments. For donors, it offers a “better giving experience,” Meyer says, because it allows them an active role in the future of HWS.

The Further Together campaign’s $400 million goal isn’t the only measure of success. As Meyer notes, participation matters, engagement matters and enthusiasm matters, and the Stewardson Society offers the alumni community a chance to deepen their relationship with their alma mater.

“We need more alumni to be donors, plain and simple,” she says, “because when more alumni give, the more HWS thrives.” Here, Stewardson Society members share why they give.

KARIN RICHARDS MOORE ’89

Current Residence: Alexandria, Va.
Occupation: General counsel and head of regulatory affairs for National Electrical Manufacturers Association
On Hobart and William Smith: “I would do college all over again, and I’d do it at Hobart and William Smith,” says Richards Moore. As a student, she participated in the now-legendary Washington, DC program with Professors Emeriti Joe DiGangi and Pat McGuire L.H.D. ’12 — and it changed her life. The contacts she made that semester led to a job at the Federal Trade Commission, then to night law school at George Mason University and her success as an antitrust lawyer. HWS “directed my career,” she says. Beyond her support for the Stewardson Society, she has hosted Washington Semester students at her home in Virginia and returns to campus for Reunion “because I love hanging out with my friends.” For Richards Moore, who attended HWS as a scholarship student, “the opportunity to go to a fantastic college that I otherwise couldn’t afford is remarkable. It’s life-changing.”

GAVIN FLOOD ’20, MAT ’21

Current residence: Pomfret, Conn.
Occupation: History and government teacher at the Pomfret School
On HWS: Flood began his HWS career with classes in four different departments — a course load he initially thought was “confusing.” Only later did he realize that this opportunity to explore was the very thing that put him on his career path. “I didn’t know I was reaping the benefits…of the liberal arts experience until it was over,” says Flood, who double-majored in political science and educational studies and minored in French. After a semester abroad in France during his junior year, and the disruption of COVID-19 during his senior year, he returned to campus for his master’s in teaching. While he “didn’t appreciate what I got out of HWS until I left,” Flood is now “repaying HWS in the form of my small monthly gift, but also by working in a small residential school. What makes these schools special is the people.… The professors I remember most fondly are the ones who saw something in me that I didn’t see.”

AYESHA DEMOND-ANGELL ’01

Current residence: Buffalo, N.Y.
Occupation: Researcher at Mathematica Policy Research, focused on program evaluation and technical assistance
On HWS: DeMond-Angell held a work-study job at Alumni House in each of her four years at HWS which allowed her to see the impact and importance of giving to HWS. As she began her career, she thought about the students facing financial obstacles who might follow her. “Giving back to the Colleges to make sure students could have the full college experience without having to struggle financially was really important to me,” she says. Today, her gifts support the Annual Fund, scholarships and, as a former member of the William Smith rowing team, William Smith Athletics. “The way I thought about it, it’s not necessarily always about the amount you give, it’s that you give — that it’s a priority for you. Another reason giving is so important to me is I deeply value the experiences and the relationships I was able to build during my time at HWS and how that shaped my growth. I want to make sure those opportunities are accessible to others.”

DAVID LUNA ’14

Current residence: “New York is my home base, but I’m never in one place. The world is my home. I’ve been out on the road consistently for nine years.”
Occupation: Diplomat for the U.S. State Department
On HWS: “It’s all about access and exposure. If you don’t have that, it’s hard for folks to see what’s out there for them,” says Luna. He came to HWS through the Higher Education Opportunity Program, which provides that access, offering financial grants to students who, as Luna explains, “present an alternate academic profile.” Through the opportunities at HWS, including the guidance of Scott McPhail in the Salisbury Center for Career, Professional and Experiential Education, Luna won a State Department Rangel Fellowship, which supported his master’s degree at the University of Denver and led to his career as a diplomat, which has taken him to the world’s political hot spots. “I like working in tough places,” says Luna, who is stationed in Kyiv, Ukraine, for the next several months. In the decade since he graduated, he has stayed in touch with former professors and President Mark D. Gearan and Mary Herlihy Gearan, because HWS is where “I learned a lot about myself,” Luna says. “I think the formula they have there, with the size and the amount of attention provided to the student means that if a student puts their mind to it, they can really go far.” Having gone far himself, Luna supports the Stewardson Society to improve access “to the same opportunities that I had.”

GREGG SNYDER ’01

Current residence: Brookline, Mass.
Occupation: Vice president for campus planning and operations at Boston University
On HWS: Anxiety is part of the equation for many new students when they arrive on campus. Not for Gregg Snyder. “I was an openly gay teenager when I started in 1997,” he says, “and I felt entirely welcome from the moment I stepped on campus. Feeling that belonging made me comfortable and confident to be my genuine self.” For Snyder, giving back through the Stewardson Society is a way “to pay forward the opportunity I was provided,” both in terms of scholarship support and community. A political science major, Snyder went on to earn his master’s in public administration. Throughout his education, the question of how to cultivate community kept reappearing. “Through classes I took, through an internship in D.C. at the Victory Fund, through student teaching, through service on campus, I got exposure to making connections, creating impact, and engaging people of different backgrounds and expertise. I saw how engagement could have an effect, how an individual can affect a community,” he says. “At the end of the day… [HWS] allowed me to fully shine and become who I am today.… I want that for the next generation.”

CHUCK RAMSAY ’92, P’25, P’27

Current residence: Deerfield, Mass.
Occupation: Chief advancement officer at Deerfield Academy
On HWS: Ramsay’s history with HWS runs deep, and so does his passion for its future. As a student trustee, he sat in on board meetings where the conversations about the upcoming capital campaign planted the seed for his career. After graduation, Ramsay spent three years working in the HWS admissions office before moving “three doors down” to the advancement office. With his experience working on HWS’ $75 million campaign, he has led fundraising efforts at Phillips Exeter Academy and Mount Holyoke College, and now at his high school alma mater, Deerfield. His connections to HWS have remained strong — through his service as president of the Alumni Association; through children, Annabel (a senior) and Rupert (a sophomore), who are students at HWS and “love it,” Ramsay says; and through his Stewardson Society membership. “I’ve always supported the school,” Ramsay says. “Never missed a year.”