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Donor gives $1.2 million to School of Management

Anonymous benefactor to provide financial help to accounting students

Published: October 19, 2006

By CYNTHIA MACHAMER
Reporter Contributor

Future undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Management will receive more financial help in pursuing their degrees, thanks to a $1.2 million endowment bequest established for undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships.

The donor, who holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the School of Management, wishes to remain anonymous. The donor grew up in Buffalo and has provided for the school in her will, she said, in gratitude for the education she received at the school. She hopes the gift will encourage future students to pursue lifelong learning as she has done.

President John Simpson praised the donor for providing opportunities for UB students. "Scholarship support opens countless doors for our students, creating valuable opportunities and educational experiences that might not otherwise have been possible. It's always particularly gratifying when this support comes from former students who value their UB education so greatly that they are committed to enabling future generations of students to benefit from those opportunities in turn."

The gift will fund scholarships for School of Management students studying accounting at the undergraduate or master's levels, or for M.B.A. students choosing the accounting concentration. Scholarship support for undergraduate students will begin in the junior year or earlier. The scholarship will cover tuition and books for all years required to complete a program.

John M. Thomas, dean of the School of Management, said the bequest sends a valuable message about the importance of community support.

"This gift from a School of Management graduate," he said, "is pivotal in demonstrating to our alumni, friends and corporate partners how the funding of scholarships is vital to efforts by the school and the university to actively recruit highly qualified students."

Susan Hamlen, associate professor and chair of the Department of Accounting and Law in the School of Management, commended the foresight of the donor.

"Through her gift, our loyal alumna has set a tremendous example that will enable deserving students to pursue an intellectually stimulating and professionally rewarding career," Hamlen noted. "We are most grateful."