Dan and Gayle Brazeau

Then at UB Dan got his PhD from the Department of Biology; Gayle's came from the Department of Pharmaceutics. Both taught and worked at the University of Houston and the University of Florida before winding up—side by side, as usual—as UB pharmacy school faculty. Today, Gayle is the dean of the University of New England's College of Pharmacy and Dan, naturally, is a faculty member there who also directs their genomics, analytics and proteomics efforts.

So it should come as no surprise that they share the same philosophies on life, education and giving. Indeed, their notion that education is "fundamental" and "transformative" led to their decision to leave a portion of their estate to UB, including the pharmacy school.

The Brazeaus started wondering what they would leave as a legacy after both sets of their parents prudently prompted them to think about making a will. Their shared beliefs brought them to a logical conclusion: "We've always believed that this planet's problems are only going to be solved through education," asserts Dan. "And we've both been in academics our entire lives. So the idea to make the bequest to UB didn't require a lot of thought."

Adds Gayle, "We're academicians at heart, so if we can invest in an environment that helps people learn every day, that's what we're all about. We got a great education at UB and want to make sure we can help others do the same."

Gayle and Dan say that they love education, that giving to education is "investing in the future." Their bequest commitment demonstrates that this long-term partnership is willing to make the investment in what they love.