An anonymous legacy gift from a grateful alumnus will make dreams come true for generations of College of Pharmacy students who need financial assistance to complete their education.

The $4 million gift included in the donor’s estate plan is the largest gift in the College’s history and creates tuition-plus scholarships that will cover the entire cost of pharmacy education for multiple students each year. It is in every sense a transformational gift to the College.

“Private gifts create opportunities for our students that are simply not possible through tuition and state support,” said Kelly Smith, Dean of the College of Pharmacy. “They also create the margin of difference between good and great. A gift of this magnitude and generosity will change the lives of the students it benefits, the people they serve in their careers, and the College as a whole. We are humbled and deeply grateful for this extraordinary gift.” 

The donor and his wife said that the College of Pharmacy allowed them,  “…to live a wonderful life, and we want to pay it back.” In conversations with the College’s development team, the couple were surprised to learn that there was not a tuition-plus program, and immediately focused on how they could help students who needed financial assistance.

“My dad always talked about education,” said the donor. “There were so many people in my high school class who could have gone to college but couldn’t afford it, even if they got a scholarship, because the scholarship only covered tuition. But they couldn’t go to college, because they couldn’t pay for a place to live or food. And that’s just not right.”

“Education is very important to these donors, and they wanted to make sure that students had the financial support to complete their education,” said Gordon Thomas, Senior Director of Development at the College of Pharmacy, of his conversations with the couple. “It was inspiring to see their compassion and commitment to students they didn’t even know, and how they wanted to share their success with them.” 

The gift is included in the donors’ estate plan as a lasting tribute to the role that the College of Pharmacy has played in their lives. For information about including the College in your estate planning, contact Gordon Thomas.