GIFT NEWS

Weills Endow Ford School Deanship

Joan and Sanford Weill of New York City have made a generous commitment to endow the deanship of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. The couple made the endowment gift in honor of their longtime friendship with President Gerald R. Ford, the University's only alumnus to become U.S. President. Rebecca Blank, the Ford School's current dean and the Henry Carter Adams Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, is the first to hold the title Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy, following action by the Board of Regents last month. Previously the Weills and the Weill Family Foundation made a gift in support of the building to house the Ford School. In recognition, President Ford asked the University to name the building Joan and Sanford Weill Hall. The building will be dedicated Oct. 13.

Dr. John W. Holmes Remembered with Rackham Endowed Award

John Wesley Holmes (AM '72, PhD '76), an ExxonMobil Corporation executive for most of his career, was really an academic at heart, says his widow, Marsha Evans Holmes of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

In a tribute to her husband, Marsha Holmes, with family members, friends and colleagues, established an endowment at the Rackham Graduate School to create the John W. Holmes Award for Graduate Students. The first recipient is Nathan Connolly of Miramar, Fla., a PhD candidate in the Department of History and recipient of the University's Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award.

Coming of age in the civil rights era, John Holmes understood the value of his U-M doctoral degree. His success at ExxonMobil led to his selection as a White House Fellow in 1980–81. He also worked at the Office of Management and Budget. Throughout his career, he mentored and inspired younger colleagues worldwide, and at the time of his death at 56, he was exploring a second career as a university professor.

"Education was very important to him, and supporting others in attaining advanced degrees is the best way I know to honor him," says Marsha Holmes, a former vice president for Verizon Communications. "The value in giving back to your college or university is something John and I both shared."

Tim and Nancy Howes Contribute to Construction of New Engineering Building

One of the major innovators in Internet technology has helped make the College of Engineering's new Computer Science and Engineering Building a reality.

Tim (BSE AERO '85, MSE CS '87, PhD CS '96) and Nancy Howes of Los Altos, Calif., have made a gift of $250, 000 for the new building, now completed on North Campus. In recognition, the College has named a first-floor, 60-seat classroom the Howes Family Classroom.

Tim Howes is co-founder and chief technology officer of Opsware, Inc., in Sunnyvale, Calif., the leading provider of data center automation software. He has been recognized as one of the top 10 e-business innovators and one of the top 25 most influential chief technology officers. Nancy Howes is an accomplished artist and philanthropist whose work is currently on display at the Maui Ocean Center in Hawaii.

Dr. Howes' father, Alan B. Howes, is a U-M professor emeritus of English language and literature, and his mother, Lidie Howes (AM '55), is a retired senior research associate in philological research at the University.

Dr. Howes is a member of the College's National Advisory Committee.

Trico Supports Fellowship in Radiation Oncology

The Trico Foundation's mission is to make transformational gifts with long-term impact.

The Southfield, Mich.-based foundation is doing just that with a $200, 000 gift to the Department of Radiation Oncology in the Medical School. The Trico Foundation Fund in Radiation Oncology will support an Israeli trained oncologist for two years while he or she receives specialized training in clinical care, research and educational leadership at the U-M.

To complement the training of the Trico Foundation Fellow, the Department is initiating a specialized training experience for medical physicists who have worked in or are recommended by Israeli hospitals. The goal is to encourage the creation of radiation oncology teams that will be highly qualified to serve the needs of all cancer patients, regardless of nationality, in Israeli hospitals.

"This wonderful gift will help increase the number of well-trained radiation oncologists in Israel," says Dr. Theodore S. Lawrence, the Isadore Lampe Professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, noting that these doctors currently receive only 18 months of specialized training in Israel, compared to four years for their American counterparts.

The Trico Foundation was formed by Warren and Margot Coville of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Brent Triest (AB '74) of Huntington Woods, Mich., is president and chief executive officer. Triest, an attorney, currently runs several investment partnerships in Southfield, Mich. Coville is the retired co-principal of BZ Holdings, an investment firm, and the former president of Guardian Industries.

Glancy Family Says ‘Thanks' to U-M With Gifts of Time and Resources

With three generations of Michigan alumni, the family of Ruth Roby Glancy (AB '62) of Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., is as inseparable from the University as maize is from blue.

"Michigan has been a very important part of my life and my children's lives, as it was for my father," says Glancy.

Recently Glancy and her family marked that relationship with two new gifts. Their commitment of $250, 000 to the Medical School establishes the Glancy Family Fund for Research in Orthopaedic Surgery, in gratitude for care received by various family members from Dr. James E. Carpenter, chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and because of their interest in advancing orthopaedic research, especially in bone and tissue regeneration.

The Glancys also made a recent $50, 000 contribution to the renovation and expansion of the Museum of Art, to which Ruth Glancy's late father, Douglas F. Roby, Sr. (AB '23) donated a sculpture by Auguste Rodin.

The family's connection to the University began when Roby, Sr., came to Michigan. He played football under his mentor, legendary coach Fielding Yost. A longtime member of the International Olympic Committee and president of both the United States Olympic Committee and the Amateur Athletic Union, Roby was the oldest living U-M letterman hen he died in 1992. He also lettered in varsity baseball.

Other alums in the family include Ruth Glancy's brother, Douglas F. Roby, Jr. (AB '56) of Grosse Pointe Farms, and three of her four children: A. Robinson (Rob) Glancy IV (MBA '99, MS '99) of Atlanta; Joan (Jody) Glancy Scott (MBA '96) of Ann Arbor; and Douglas R. Glancy (MBA '07, MS '07) of Ann Arbor.

The Glancys have made a number of gifts to several units of the University. Ruth Glancy serves on the Greater Detroit Leadership Gifts Committee and the Health System Advisory Group. Her husband, Al, recently joined the U-M Visiting Committee for the Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics. Jody Scott serves on the Washtenaw County Campaign Committee, the Alumni Association Alumni Leadership Council, the Alumni Board of Governors and the Women's Leadership Council for the Ross School of Business, and the Young Professionals Group at the Museum of Art.

Boonstra Fund Creates Undergrad Scholarships

After serving more than five years in World War II, Earl Boonstra (AB '48, JD '50 with distinction) wasted no time when he enrolled at the U-M. He earned both his undergraduate and law degrees in four years, aided by perhaps the greatest student assistance program ever: the GI Bill.

Concerned with today's high educational costs, Boonstra, of Boynton Beach, Fla., has created a scholarship fund through establishing a $600, 000 gift annuity. The Earl R. and Margaret C. Boonstra Scholarship Fund, which also honors the memory of Boonstra's wife, will support students with financial need who graduate from high schools in Ottawa County, in western Michigan. Boonstra has also bequeathed the residue of his estate to the fund.

"I want to ensure that people who are a little disadvantaged are getting some help to go to Michigan," he says.

A native of Ottawa County, Boonstra grew up on a farm near Zeeland. After completing his legal studies, he had a 45-year career with the Detroit-based Dykema Gossett law firm, specializing in employment law. He returns to Ann Arbor for his law school class reunion every five years, most recently in October 2005.

Boonstra has also made generous gifts to the Law School.

Shindler-Kosnik Scholarship Benefits LSA

His worst-ever view of the University, says Steven Shindler (AB '85), was in the rear-view mirror.

"It was extremely depressing the day I had to drive out of Ann Arbor, knowing I was done," says Shindler, of Great Falls, Va.

He talks readily about what made his undergraduate years memorable: close friends, school spirit, the charged atmosphere of a large university and a first-rate education.

So that others might have the same experience, Shindler and his wife, Mary Kay Kosnik (AB '83), have made a gift of $200, 000 to the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts establishing the Steven Shindler and Mary Kay Kosnik Scholarship Fund. The endowment will provide need-based student support.

Kosnik and Shindler are looking ahead to the college years of their children, aged 13, 11 and 9. They realize that many parents hope for the same high-quality education for their children, but may not be able to afford it, says Shindler.

"Our hope is that in some small way, we might make a difference in someone's life," he says.

Shindler is chairman and chief executive officer of NII Holdings, Inc., formerly Nextel International, in Reston, Va. Kosnik is a former management consultant for KPMG.

Krauses Endow Scholarship in Dentistry

Recognizing the University's critical need for student support, Dr. Gerald D. Krause (DDS '46) and his wife, Phyllis, of Phoenix, Ariz., and Bloomfield Hills, Mich., have made a $100, 000 gift to the School of Dentistry.

Their commitment establishes a need-based endowed scholarship in the Krauses' name to support a student at the School from Trenton or another downriver Detroit community. Dr. Krause practiced dentistry in that area before his retirement.

Dr. Krause is a member of the School's Campaign Task Force. The couple have made several previous gifts to the School.

Huntoon-Arno Gift Supports Career Changers at School of Education

Faced with a career path that splits in two, the bravest among us follow their hearts instead of their heads.

David Huntoon (JD '85) and Mari Arno (AB '81) of Ann Arbor are supporting such courageous people with a $50, 000 scholarship gift to the School of Education's intensive, yearlong Master of Arts with Certification program. Every year the couple's commitment provides tuition assistance to a student who has left a first career to become a teacher.

The gift honors Wendy Stalo Huntoon, David's first wife, who died in 1998.Wendy Huntoon (AB '77, CERTT EDUC '83, MS '85) was a success in the business world who chose to become a teacher rather than pursue a PhD in business.

"One of the best ways we could think of to honor her was to help someone who wanted to make a similar transition," said David Huntoon, director of MapInfo-Thompson in Ann Arbor, a site selection firm. Arno is the former assistant director of student orientation at the U-M.

Married after both were widowed, Huntoon and Arno have helped seven students with diverse backgrounds, first through annual gifts and now through a multi-year pledge. Their children— Caroline and Greg Huntoon, and Pete, Maggie and John Arno—are all for the idea.

Wendy Huntoon was the first in her family to graduate from college. Her sisters are also alumnae, which pleased their father, a staunch Wolverine supporter.

"It's great to be doing something for Michigan and to be doing it in her memory," said David Huntoon.