Great Expectations Tops the Halfway Mark

Great Expectations netted $510 million as of this spring, well on the way to $1 billion by December 2011.

A $6 MILLION GIFT from long-time Maryland benefactor Robert H. Smith ’50 has taken both the university’s performing arts programs and Great Expectations,The Campaign for Maryland to a new level.The late March gift pushed the campaign past the halfway mark of its $1 billion goal just ahead of the chronological mid-point of the seven-year effort.

Funds raised by March 31 totaled more than $502 million, and giving has continued at a steady pace since then. “The Maryland family is proving we can rise to the challenge of our lofty goal,” says Alma Gildenhorn ’53, campaign co-chair and trustee of the University of Maryland College Park Foundation.“With the support of more than 80,000 donors so far,we have already surpassed the total amount raised over the full course of our last campaign.”

Gifts to Great Expectations are having a transformational impact on the university.The Smith Family Foundation’s commitment to academic programs in music, dance and theater, for example,will set a new direction for educating artists and scholars and extend the university’s reach as a national artistic and intellectual center.The March gift will provide resources for student, faculty and programmatic enhancements to achieve true national distinction.

Growing support for the campaign can already be seen across the university.Hundreds of new scholarships are creating opportunity for more students. Endowed chairs and professorships in new areas are attracting more distinguished faculty.New facilities like the ChemistryTeaching Wing dot the landscape, and new programs like the Robert E. Fischell Department of Bioengineering are expanding our academic offerings.

“We still have much work to do, but our goal of providing the resources that will help assure the growth of a worldclass university is within our grasp,” says Gildenhorn. -CR

Undeclared Majors Get Scholarship Boost

Student Mary Feng '10, left, was one of three inaugural recipients of the Betty J. Beckley Award for Letters and Sciences Students. The scholarship is named in honor of Beckley, right, former assistant dean for the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

“THERE’S A PURPOSE to education beyond careerism,” says Betty J. Beckley, the first director for Letters and Sciences and former assistant dean for the Office of Undergraduate Studies.“I want people to have the freedom to explore and find out what is right for them, and not be discouraged from doing that.”To further academic exploration, the Betty J. Beckley Award for Letters and Sciences Students is the first scholarship to support sophomores who are undeclared majors.

After Beckley’s retirement in 1997, colleagues set up a scholarship in her name.Beckley contributed to the fund over the years,which has increased to more than $79,000.Last year, she and university officials finalized details on the scholarship.

“We are grateful to Betty Beckley for recognizing these terrific students, and for highlighting a critical need for this program,” says Donna Hamilton, associate provost and dean of undergraduate studies. Beckley scholarships are awarded annually to three outstanding students who have not determined a major at the time of application. Such students are housed in the Letters and Sciences division,which offers them advising and other support services.Among the inaugural 2007 recipients,Mary Feng says the award has been “an incredible resource.As anAsianAmerican from an immigrant family, I have endured both academic and financial challenges.” Feng, a College Park Scholar, is now a psychology and marketing major.

Pursuing a degree in international business and management, Stephanie Murphy says Letters and Sciences “expanded my awareness of community service activities on-campus, assisted me in building business skills and setting long-term career goals.” “The general campus culture often assumes that the student who explores is not the student who is really equipped academically. I don’t believe that to be the case,” says Beckley.“We want students to be open to all subjects and be better prepared for the life ahead.” —DCJ

Scholarship Sprouts from Eastern Shore Roots

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING student Dustin Butler ’08 credits the solid work ethic instilled by his small hometown of Preston on Maryland’s Eastern Shore for helping him adjust to academic challenges he found at Maryland. But it was another Eastern Shore connection that saw him through his final year to graduation.

A new scholarship, funded by a native Eastern Shore family, the McNelias, bridged the gap in Butler’s financial need, paving the way for his next steps to law school and a career as an intellectual property attorney protecting the rights of inventors.

The son of a single mother with three other children, Butler says the scholarship and community support were key in his success. “On the Eastern Shore, we have very closeknit communities. Everyone helps each other,” he says. “I hope to further that kind of camaraderie in my career as a lawyer.”

The McNelia Scholars Fund is built on family and community. It was created by Megan McNelia Frantz ’98 and her husband, Mark, in 2004 as a gift to her parents, John Franklin ’60 and Irma Jean ’61,M.Ed. ’83, on their 45th wedding anniversary to honor their love for the University of Maryland and their Salisbury roots.“We wanted to capture the essence of who they are and where they came from,” says Megan (with Mark, right), an alumna of the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

The idea began with Mark.“We knew how much the McNelias enjoyed their time at Maryland and how much they valued education and the opportunities that come from it,” he says.“This seemed like the perfect gift to give them.”The Frantzs continue contributing with the goal of one day funding full-tuition scholarships.

“This really makes us feel like a true Maryland family,” says Irma Jean (above, with John Franklin).“We are extremely proud of being graduates of the university.” Their son, John Andrew ’93, is a mechanical engineering graduate.

The entire family grew up with Maryland.“Every Sunday we’d drive through campus after church and end up atThe Dairy for ice cream treats,”Megan recalls.“It now feels good to give back to something that is so much a part of my foundation.” John Franklin and Irma Jean are so proud, in fact, that they are also contributing to the scholarship fund.The first in their families to attend college, they recall the tremendous financial strain on their family.“Many Eastern Shore families must still struggle to cover the cost of college.This is a thank you for all the past help we received from that special community,” says Irma Jean.

The scholarship is awarded to Eastern Shore students following in the McNelias’ footsteps and majoring in engineering, education or business. —CR

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