Hobart and William Smith Colleges

24 January 2007 Florida Launch celebrates HWS success

Alums gather in Jupiter and Naples

Alumni and alumnae shared reflections of their time at Hobart and William Smith during a pair of Florida launch celebrations of Campaign for the Colleges last weekend in Jupiter and Naples. The events advanced the $160 million campaign that kicked off this fall.

Board Chair David H. Deming 75 opened the events expressing gratitude for his liberal arts education that has given him the foundation to ask questions, think big and take chances. I believe in the power of Hobart and William Smith to transform lives. It certainly transformed mine, said Deming, managing director of Integrated Finance Limited in Manhattan.

(For more images from the event, click here.)

The Colleges are on the threshold of new possibilities, echoed President Mark D. Gearan. Campus improvements are occurring at a rapid pace with recent building projects including Stern Hall, the newest academic building; Trinity Hall with offices for global education, public service and The Salisbury Center for Career Services; The Katherine D. Elliott Studio Arts Center and The Goldstein Family Carriage House, which complete a modern studio arts complex; Finger Lakes Institute; Bozzuto Boathouse; the Admissions Center; McCooey Field; and de Cordova Hall.

Future projects include the creation of a Performing Arts Center, expanding the Scandling Student Center, and renovating athletics facilities, as well as raising the endowment to top $200 million, increasing scholarships and more.

With both gratitude and inspiration from our past, we have set an ambitious agenda for the future, Gearan said. Our charge is to move these Colleges forward so that future generations will have the benefit of a world-class education.

Vice Chair of the Board Maureen Collins Zupan 72, P09, a financial planner with Sagemark Consulting in Syracuse, highlighted the 100th anniversary of the founding of William Smith College in 2008. As part of the campaign, William Smith alumnae have committed themselves to raising $7 million to establish and endow a new Centennial Center for Leadership.

The programs were highlighted by reflections from:
Cindy Accordino of Naples, mother of Frank Fellone 04, who praised the individual attention received by students;
Author Anthony Bridwell 49 of Naples, who said those who attended Hobart on the GI Bill never forgot how the Colleges took a chance on them;
Kenneth Carle of Naples, professor emeritus in chemistry who taught at the Colleges from 1959 to 1992 and parent of three alums, who touted the Colleges multidisciplinary approach;
Honorary Trustee Roy Dexheimer 55, who offered a tribute to fellow Honorary Trustee Jane Ritter 48;
Dorothy Emer 53, who recalled the magic of returning to the Colleges campus and the challenging curriculum she mastered;
Otto Foerster 06, who discussed his liberal arts education and praised the academic rigor he found within the Religious Studies Department;
Trustee Jane Napier P89, who reflected on her familys involvement with the Colleges for the past 54 years.

Hosting the two events were Trustee Jane Napier P89, a member of the Board for more than a decade, who hosted the celebration on Saturday, Jan. 20 at The Bears Club in Jupiter; and Trustee Daniel Accordino P04 and his wife, Cindy P04, who hosted an event the next day at the Naples Grande Resort and Club.

Campaign for the Colleges will continue with launch celebrations in Portland, Maine on Feb. 1, Washington, D.C. on Feb. 15, and Baltimore, Maryland, on Feb. 16.