HWS News
15 November 2022 • Alums Commit to the Future with the Anderton Impact Challenge
Former Trustee James F. Anderton IV ’65 hopes to inspire HWS alums and friends — and leverage his $1 million gift into even more support for student scholarships and financial aid.
Backed by a generous planned bequest of $1 million from James F. Anderton IV ’65, the Anderton Impact Challenge calls on the HWS community to commit to the Colleges’ future.
To reach the $3 million goal, alums and friends 60 years and older who join the Wheeler Society with a planned gift of $100,000 or more will receive a 50 percent match through the Anderton Impact Challenge.
“We are so grateful for Jim Anderton's continued commitment to our students and our future as an institution,” says Vice President for Advancement Bob O’Connor P’22, P’23. “In focusing his gift in this prescient and strategic way, Jim is opening the door to so many others to discover the power of planned giving. The Anderton Challenge is a powerful opportunity to advance the Colleges’ mission, and we couldn’t be more excited to launch.”
The Wheeler Society was established at HWS in 1989 to encourage those who wish to leave a lasting legacy on campus to do so through thoughtful planned giving. Forward-thinking by design, gift planning makes education possible for future generations of students. The Anderton Impact Challenge is intended to maximize these gifts and honor the dedication of those committed to Hobart and William Smith.
Following the largest fundraising year in institutional history, the Challenge marks another substantial investment in scholarships and financial aid, a key priority of the Colleges’ strategic plan. With a gift of $100,000 or more, donors can establish an endowed fund, therefore providing financial support for HWS students in perpetuity.
Learn more about the Anderton Impact Challenge
About Jim Anderton
A member of the Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2000, Anderton is the founder and executive chairman of property management and real estate investment and development company Krimson. He holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University and an M.B.A. from Cornell University, as well as his B.A. in economics from Hobart. A longtime supporter of HWS, he was awarded the Hobart Medal of Excellence, the Hobart Alumni Association’s highest honor, in 1997. In 2015, he received the Lifetime Service Award, presented to alumni who have made exceptional contributions to Hobart College throughout their lives.
Earlier this year, HWS announced two new speaker series, endowed by Anderton, that will bring a new range of expertise and insight to campus and the broader HWS community beginning next fall: The Anderton World Affairs Symposium and the Anderton Economic Policy Symposium.
About the Wheeler Society
The Wheeler Society is named for Schuyler Skaats Wheeler Sc.D. 1888 – inventor, intellectual and entrepreneur – and his wife Amy Sutton Wheeler who established a bequest that was realized nearly 100 years later and used in the 1990s to renovate Gulick Hall. This gift and the people who made it possible serve as the inspiration for the today’s planned giving society at the Colleges. Since it was established in 1989, the Wheeler Society has welcomed more than 1,000 alums, parents and friends. Their gifts — both modest and large — have reshaped the Colleges and their future.
