Hobart and William Smith Colleges

20 February 2023 • Alums • Entrepreneurship Stine Family Invests in Community and Opportunity

A $3 million gift from Board Chair Craig R. Stine ’81, P’17 and Kathy Hay Stine P’17 boosts key strategic goals around entrepreneurial education, campus community and scholarships.

Building on the momentum from Hobart and William Smith supporters, Craig R. Stine ’81, P’17 and his wife Kathy Hay Stine P’17 announced a $3 million gift to fund scholarships, the Colleges’ intercultural center and an endowed professorship in management and entrepreneurship.

“We want to create an opportunity for others to benefit from what we believe is a fabulous foundation for life — a liberal arts education,” Stine says.

“Craig and Kathy are incredible champions of Hobart and William Smith,” says President Mark D. Gearan. “Their leadership and deep engagement in the things that are important to our entire community of students, faculty, staff, alums and parents is a remarkable model. We are so appreciative of their generosity, and I remain deeply indebted to Craig for his leadership, guidance and support of the Colleges as Chair of the Board.”

Members of the Colleges’ Seneca Society since 2015, the Stines have a long history of generosity to Hobart and William Smith, placing them among those whose extraordinary philanthropy has remarkably altered the Colleges’ future.

When he began his term as Chair of the Hobart and William Smith Board of Trustees in 2020, Stine identified key priorities for the institution, including affordability and a campus culture of belonging. “Access and affordability must be our aspiration,” he said in the Pulteney Street Survey at the start of his tenure. He noted that the aspiration must be “accompanied by an emphasis on making the Colleges a place that attracts and retains a wide diversity of community members.”

To help advance these priorities, a portion of this most recent gift establishes the Stine Family Endowed Scholarship for need-based, academically qualified students. The gift also provides the naming opportunity for the renovation and expansion of the Intercultural Center. The IC project began during the summer of 2022 following an inclusive design process with students, staff and faculty, examining how upgrades could support today’s campus community and the Colleges’ Strategic Diversity Plan while preserving the spirit of the IC. During the Bicentennial gala in the fall, Stine announced that he and Kathy wanted the Center to be named in memory of the Rev. Dr. Alger Adams ’32, D.D. ’83, the first Black graduate of Hobart College. The Stine Multipurpose Room in the Adams Intercultural Center will be named in their honor.

Director of Intercultural Affairs Alejandra Molina says: "Naming Intercultural Affairs after such a remarkable alum will ensure that his life and legacy will be remembered and celebrated for many years to come. It is my hope that students who come to the IC will feel that they are in the presence of someone who, despite all odds, forged a sense of belonging at the Colleges and in the Geneva communities."

Finally, the Stines’ gift will fund an endowed professorship in management and entrepreneurship. The Stine Family Endowed Chair in Management and Entrepreneurship will help steer the direction and progress of the Colleges’ academic programs focused on management, including the newest academic department and major in Management and Entrepreneurship.

“We are thrilled to have this level of support so early in our program’s history,” says Professor of Economics Thomas Drennen, who is heading up the new major at the Colleges. “That this professorship bears the name of one of our most accomplished alums who is himself a skilled manager and an entrepreneurial thinker, will be a reminder in perpetuity of this program’s goals and values.”