Anonymous Donor Gives Additional $800,000 For Distinguished Honors Scholars Program

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Distinguished Honors Scholars Program has seen its support from an anonymous donor reach $3.2 million, bringing to 57 the number of the brightest students from across the country who will have tuition and all expenses covered for each of their four undergraduate years at UB.

This new level of support was realized with an $800,000 cash gift received from the same donor who established the program with a $1.6 million cash gift in 1995 and a year later donated an additional $800,000 cash gift.

Thanks to the donor's latest gift, 20 students recruited to enter UB as freshmen in Fall 1997 will receive full coverage of tuition, fees, books, personal expenses and travel between school and home for their four years at UB.

The original $1.6 million was 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.

At the time the original gift was announced, the anonymous donor said his intention was to enable students of exceptional merit to pursue an education at a premier university and to do so "without the distractions of financial obligations."

According to Clyde Herreid, Ph.D., academic director of the UB Honors Program, the scholarships that the university has been able to offer because of the anonymous donor's generosity have bolstered UB's competitiveness in attracting top students. Distinguished Honors Scholars participate in the University Honors Program.

"One of the recent most significant developments from these gifts," he added, "is that we've seen a marked increase in the number of applications from high-caliber students from out-of-state. Because of the program, the university is enjoying a higher national profile.

"These students can attend any school in the country, but the Distinguished Honors Scholarships allow us to be equally competitive with Ivy League schools and bring to UB, as the donor has intended, students who otherwise would have been unable to attend."

Since 1995, Distinguished Honors Scholarships have enabled 37 of the nation's top freshmen students to attend UB.

Of the 26 scholars who entered UB this past fall, six are from Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington. Among the 26, the average combined verbal and math SAT score is 1511 out of 1600 - up from 1469 in the first group of scholars. Ten of the new group were National Merit Scholarship winners.

UB President William R. Greiner cited the donor's support as the driving force that brought these top-notch students to the university.

"It is significant that this friend of the university has now come back two times to add to his support for our Distinguished Honors Scholars Program, which has gained major national visibility," said Greiner. "Because of this donor's generosity, some truly talented people who might not otherwise be at a university are now at UB, and are bringing remarkable new dimensions to the University Honors Program.

"We are very grateful to this anonymous donor for the continuing investment that makes this program possible," he added.