Anonymous Doner Gives UB $800,000 to Continue Distinguished Honers Scholars Program

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo has received a cash gift of $800,000 for its Distinguished Honors Scholars Program from the same anonymous donor who gave a $1.6 million cash gift in January 1995 to establish the program, which covers the recipients' costs of attending UB for four years.

The original $1.6 million gift is the largest cash gift ever received by UB or any other college or university in the State University of New York system in which the funds were immediately available for use.

The latest gift will allow the program to recruit students to enter UB as freshmen in Fall 1997 for a third round of scholarships.

The donor cited the excellent students who have been recruited and his pleasure with the overall way in which the program has been run as motivations for making the additional gift.

“I am extremely pleased with the University at Buffalo’s Honors Program and the Distinguished Honors Scholars Program," he added. "Seeing my gift used to help such outstanding students in what is clearly a challenging yet nurturing program is extremely gratifying. My hope is that through the Distinguished Honors Scholars Program, I can continue to assist the best and brightest students who face overwhelming financial odds.

"These are students who want the enriching undergraduate educational experience of working with world-class faculty who are available only at a diverse research university. I would like to see the University at Buffalo become the natural choice for these leading students from throughout the nation.”

Eleven incoming freshmen were awarded Distinguished Honors Scholarships in Fall 1995 following a vigorous recruitment effort by the university. The scholarships the students received cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, personal expenses and travel between school and home.

Of the first students recruited: six are male and five are female; the average combined verbal and math SAT score is 1469 out of 1600; the average high school average is 98 out of 100; and four were National Merit Semifinalists, of whom two were winners.

“This scholarship will allow me to use the time I would have spent working at a part-time job to volunteer at hospitals, participate in research, and devote more time to my studies.”

“I hope to put the next four years to tremendously good use as I try to learn as much as I can advancing me toward my goals, when one day I hope to become a research professor and teach what I have learned to new generations.”

“Throughout my college search, I was frustrated to find that scholarships based strictly on academic merit...were quite difficult to find. I believe that the Distinguished Honors Scholarships...are a refreshing ray of hope that high academic grades are still recognized and appreciated.”

The donor’s initial gift also provided support for a second class of Distinguished Honors freshmen -- for which recruitment is currently under way -- to enter UB in Fall 1996. A special effort is being made to find students throughout the state and the nation who have outstanding abilities, as well as significant financial needs. This latest gift allows the program to recruit students for a third round of scholarships for Fall 1997.

“We place a very high priority on recruiting more of the country’s most competitive, most talented students and giving those students a varied, challenging, rich undergraduate experience within the setting of a public research university,” said UB President William R. Greiner.

"Thanks to the ongoing support and thoughtfulness of this donor, we can offer such students the academic excellence to which we are committed and the full financial support that their level of skill and accomplishment so fully justifies.

"That’s a lasting and powerful way to further the achievements of our best and brightest young people," Greiner added. "UB is proud and very, very pleased to have the chance, through this donor’s kindness, to do so.”

Clyde Herreid, Ph.D., academic director of the UB Honors Program, said the new gift "speaks well to the fact that UB has been able to meet all of the donor's expectations in regards to offering excellent, although financially needy, students this opportunity.

“These students could have gone anywhere in the country, but they were impressed enough by UB’s program and reputation that they chose to come here.”

Nicolas Goodman, vice provost for undergraduate education, added: “This is a vote of confidence in the honors program and shows that they have done an excellent job of recruiting these and other students. I hope that this donor’s generosity will prompt many other friends of UB to support this important effort to enrich not only the honors program, but the university as a whole.”

Ronald H. Stein, vice president for university advancement and development noted, “The generosity of this donor is testimony to the excellence we strive for in all that we do. His support also demonstrates the power of private philanthropy where gifts, no matter what the size, come together to provide the resources needed to keep UB one of the premier public universities in the country.”