New Dance Residency Honors Schönberg Student
and Admirer

When Bessie Schönberg mentored Barbara Bray Ketchum ‘43, she couldn’t have known how her protégé’s respect and admiration would strengthen the Sarah Lawrence dance program more than 60 years later. In recognition of their mother’s career in dance and her 65th reunion, the Ketchum family has made a generous gift to the College to establish the Barbara Bray Ketchum Artist in Residency Fund. This fund will facilitate direct teaching and learning opportunities between visiting artists-in-residence and Sarah Lawrence dance students.

“I have always loved the College, and I had a wonderful experience under Bessie Schönberg’s tutelage,” Barbara says. “At that time, we had visiting dancers come to campus to work with us, and in those days modern dance was in its infancy and very exciting. I will always remember the artists—among them Martha Graham, Doris Humphreys, and Hanya Holm.”

“We are thrilled by the prospects of dynamic teaching this residency fund will offer,” says Sara Rudner, program director. “The exchange of ideas among mature dancers, choreographers, and the next generation of dance artists will enhance and strengthen the College’s program.”

Fund for Sarah Lawrence Initiatives Create Enhanced Giving Opportunities

In honor of her upcoming 50th reunion, Noni Stearns ’58 was inspired to make a gift to the FSL Scholars Program, a new initiative that offers a personal and direct way to support current students. “Sarah Lawrence offers such a unique educational experience,” Stearns says. “As alums, we really need to do what we can to make sure that tradition continues and is accessible to deserving students.”

With a minimum gift of $5,000, a donor to the program is connected with a student receiving financial aid and is provided a “snapshot” profile of that student. Donors also have the opportunity to meet FSL scholarship students at a special reception on campus.

The second initiative, the Ruth Wilmot Anderson ’29 Society (RWAS), recognizes FSL donors who have made consecutive gifts for five years or more. The society is named for the College’s first graduate who established the Fund for Sarah Lawrence in 1930 with a contribution of $25 — and subsequently gave every year until her death in 1992. Likeminded RWAS members have the chance to meet one another at receptions in their honor.

Dr. Joan Golan ’70 has been following in Ruth’s footsteps. Inspired by her studies with Joe Papaleo, Charlotte Doyle, and Joyce Riegelhaupt, Golan has made giving to the College an annual priority since 1970. “Long after graduation, there continue to be opportunities to learn and grow,” says Golan, whose daughter Kit is currently enrolled at the College. “Sarah Lawrence is true to its founding principles.”

Leaving a Legacy:
Forward Thinking Yields Both Immediate and Lasting Benefits

Legendary psychology faculty member Rudolf Arnheim remembered Sarah Lawrence in his estate, designating that his gift be used for projects in the Esther Raushenbush Library. The directive was made in memory of his wife, Mary, who worked in the library during their years together at the College. “Iwas so touched by Rudy’s gift,” says Patti Owen, a former colleague of Mary’s who appreciates the personal nature of the bequest. “She was very intelligent and effective — yet also unassuming.Mary was a wonderful co-worker.”

Rudolf Arnheim, who passed away in June 2007, knew the importance of planned gifts. At Sarah Lawrence, these gifts are especially meaningful. Not only do they reflect the impact the College has made on the donor’s life, but they are also instrumental in helping to build economic stability for the College, allowing it to plan for the future.

Now boasting nearly 450 members, the William & Sarah Lawrence Society recognizes planned giving donors such as the Arnheims. In addition to welcoming five new members this past year, four existing members also notified the College of their plans to leave gifts totaling $2.3 million. Bequests from a faculty member, a nearby resident, a parent, and several generous alumnae/i who made provisions for Sarah Lawrence bring the year’s realized bequests to $1.3 million.

Beyond building the endowment, funds generated from these gifts help meet present needs ranging from student scholarships to program support — immediately enriching the lives of current students. In the present and in the future, bequests contribute substantially to the growth and development of Sarah Lawrence students.

Music Moves Local Resident to Sponsor Concerts at SLC

Through many of her nearly 100 years, long-time Bronxville resident Margaret Hopping enjoyed public concerts at Sarah Lawrence. Expressing her appreciation for these culturally enriching experiences, she remembered the College in her will, recently leaving a bequest of $225,000 to support similar events offered by the Music program.

Honoring her wishes, The Margaret Hopping Music Fund at Sarah Lawrence will be used to help underwrite the annual concert series, which presents approximately eight performances each semester by diverse artists of widely varying styles. The series is fully integrated into the Music program, and students benefit not only from their attendance, but also by occasional opportunities to perform alongside guest musicians.

“We are touched and delighted with this gift,” says Chester Biscardi, director of the Music program. “It is encouraging and affirming that a member of our local community was so pleased by Sarah Lawrence’s musical offerings that she chose to support and nourish our concert series. Her gift will be an enormous help in bringing exceptional artists to campus.”

Foundation Partnership Brings Minority Students to Campus for High School Writing Intensive

For the past two summers, motivated high school sophomores have traveled to campus to participate in Writing for Life: Authenticity and Argument, an intensive, month-long writing course.The program is a partnership between Sarah Lawrence and Prep for Prep, a New York City-based nonprofit dedicated to the educational and leadership development of youth from minority backgrounds.

Following Writing for Life’s successful pilot intensive in 2006, the Teagle Foundation — which provided initial funding for the program — awarded SLC a generous two-year grant through its College-Community Connections initiative. The foundation sought not only to help students build writing skills, but also to expose them to the multiple facets of a liberal arts education.The program adheres closely to Sarah Lawrence’s unique educational pedagogy, gathering an intimate group of 12 participants who benefit from the one-on-one conferencing system as well as a curriculum aimed at both personal and academic development.

Modeled after the summer workshop for high school students, Writing for Life approaches the craft from several different perspectives in a seminar setting — beginning with exposure to fiction writing, then moving in succession through the areas of poetry, personal narrative/memoir, personal essay, and finally, persuasive essay.

The philosophy behind this progression is that creative writing can be less intimidating than expository writing, giving students the opportunity to have fun with writing first.With that positive momentum, they can explore the various genres, using themselves as the subject in personal narrative. Then they can move outside of themselves to write persuasively about the world around them.

“We want to make the course as fun and meaningful as possible,” says Alexandra Soiseth, assistant director of the graduate writing program, who also leads Writing for Life. SLC graduate students help run the program,which provides the College an opportunity to expose high school scholars to its signature educational philosophy and teaching style. Participants also get a taste of college life by touring the campus and talking with current undergraduates and an admissions officer.

The Teagle Foundation,which has always supported communitybased organizations in New York City, cites the Sarah Lawrence program as one of its most exciting college-access initiatives, based on the potential for positive learning outcomes. Last summer, Donna Heiland, foundation vice president, observed a Writing for Life seminar led by Soiseth. Heiland was impressed by the way the class flowed seamlessly between theory and practice, with students receiving both practical writing advice (to help with the college application process) and exposure to rigorous literary analysis. “We want to support students in every way, inspiring ambition as they aim for excellence,” says Heiland of the Teagle Foundation’s decision to fund Writing for Life. “Alex and her team have done this exceptionally well. It’s very heartening.”

From Admiration to Contribution:
Special Teacher Inspires Special Gifts

Returning to school as an adult learner, Lynn Gale CCE ’92 immersed herself in history and French — and reveled in Angela Moger’s French literature classes. The experience and the relationship have had lasting impact.

When Gale had the opportunity to make a donation to the College through her family’s foundation last year,she specified that her gift go, once again, toward Moger’s passion, the Sarah Lawrence in Paris Program. (Since 1988, Gale has made several such gifts.)

“Angela is just wonderful — funny, interesting, and very supportive,” says Gale. “I simply wanted to give back to my favorite professor.”

Gale’s first gift underwrote a curatorguided seminar trip to Versailles for 20 students, significantly enriching the program. Plans for the most recent gift are still being finalized and likely will make possible student attendance at a cultural event, such as an avant garde theatre performance.

“Thanks to Lynn’s generosity, we are able to give students experiences they simply would not otherwise have access to,” says Moger, who has served as the program’s faculty liaison for more than 25 years.

Gale’s support is also motivated by the caliber of the program, which is one of the oldest of its kind — and the only one in Paris where students are systematically enrolled in French universities and take humanities and social science classes taught entirely in French for credit. “This is the only study abroad program of its kind,” says Moger of the students’ full immersion in Parisian culture. “In class, our students are mixed with the whole population of these institutions, not segregated into courses for foreigners.Yet they continue to enjoy the signature aspect of a Sarah Lawrence education. We reproduce the essential conferencing system,but otherwise students follow the French academic system.” Additionally, the program has employed a full-time, on-site director since its inception — a French native and year-round resident who provides invaluable continuity.

Scholarship Honors Mentor Robert L. Zimmerman

In a dual tribute to former philosophy professor Robert L. Zimmerman, Lowell Miller ’70 established a grant that venerates the commitment and accomplishments of his don. “Bob was a great, dedicated teacher,” recalls Miller.“I wanted to honor his contributions to the College and provide an opportunity for current students.”

The Robert L. Zimmerman Scholarship is awarded to an undergraduate entering the third or fourth year of study who demonstrates financial need as well as a high probability of academic success. Preference is given to students who are concentrating in philosophy, which was Zimmerman’s area of scholarship.The first recipient was Tony Wong ’08.

Additionally, Miller created The Robert L. Zimmerman Prize for Excellence in Philosophy,which recognizes a student whose work “reflects fire and passion for the subject.” Dustin Neuman ’07 was selected for the 2007 prize.

Gifts such as these have a direct and lasting impact on students’ ability to perform at their potential and fully enjoy a rich, rewarding experience at Sarah Lawrence. Last year, 46 percent of SLC undergraduates received financial aid to support their educational pursuits.With the average award totaling less than $23,000, scholarship funds are a critical asset in recruiting and retaining talented and deserving students.

Scholarship Fund Generates Gratitude, Pride and Friendship

Carlos Meltzer ’03 understands, on a very personal level, just how invaluable scholarship support can be. While an undergraduate, Meltzer was the first recipient of the Robert M. and Nancy W. Hoyt Scholarship, which provides assistance to a student with the highest degree of need and a high likelihood for success at Sarah Lawrence. “It would have been really hard for me to get through college without the Hoyts,” says Meltzer. “I really appreciate what they did.”

As a trustee, Bob Hoyt ’72 had been giving annually to the Fund for Sarah Lawrence. Then, in 2000, Bob and his wife Nancy Wasserman Hoyt ’76 decided to establish the scholarship — the goal of which is to provide an opportunity for a talented student with financial need to thrive in Sarah Lawrence’s intimate academic environment.

Meltzer says he is extremely grateful for the Hoyts’ contribution to his academic development. Born and raised in Houston, Meltzer had never even heard of Sarah Lawrence until he received a mailing from the College. Encouraged by his high school writing teacher, Meltzer visited campus and fell in love. A student of theatre, psychology, and writing, Meltzer had the unique opportunity to meet the Chicago-based Hoyts on one of their trips to Bronxville, during which they arranged to have lunch.

Since that first meeting, the relationship has continued to blossom. Today, more than four years after graduation, Meltzer and Hoyt still keep in touch via e-mail and the occasional telephone call. They converse about everything from politics to Hoyt’s work as a hedge fund manager to Meltzer’s interest in the social connectivity of food. He is a community outreach leader in Recipe for Success, a Houston-based organization that fights childhood obesity by educating students about food.

The Hoyts add that Meltzer has impressed them with his intelligence, creativity, and continued determination to make the world a better place.

“The fund provides an opportunity for someone as talented as Carlos to thrive,” says Bob Hoyt. “It is something Nancy and I are particularly proud of.”

Commitment to the Sarah Lawrence Pedagogy:
Ziesing Family Supports Faculty Enrichment

“At Sarah Lawrence, the faculty are the heart of the school. So it’s important to keep the spirit of teaching and learning alive by fostering their personal scholarship and study,” says Whitney Wing Oppersdorff ’60 of her family’s decision to support faculty enrichment.

The College’s unique conferencing system, which provides students unparalleled opportunities for deep and nuanced learning, requires the highest level of faculty dedication. In recent years, a number of funds have been established to support the scholarship and research needs of these devoted educators. One such example is the Faith Whitney Ziesing Fund in the Social Sciences.

Created in 1988 by Ziesing’s friends and family, the fund honors the former Sarah Lawrence trustee and faculty member who graduated from SLC in 1932. Last year, her daughters — Whitney Wing Oppersdorff ’60, Lucinda Ziesing ’73, and Faith Wing Bieler — pledged additional gifts to enhance the fund.

Reflecting Ziesing’s appreciation for teachers and respect for the learning process, the fund established in her name supports independent research, provides access to professional journals, and finances attendance at scholarly conferences — all of which help to “keep the vital work of teachers connected to the larger world,” explains Lucinda Ziesing. “This kind of funding serves as validation and allows continued development of the faculty members’ intellectual life.”

Ziesing family ties to the College run deep — dating back to the 1930s, when Faith Whitney Ziesing’s mother, Florence Canfield Whitney, served on the Sarah Lawrence Board of Trustees and provided funding for the Caspar Whitney Gym in Bates, a gift in honor of her husband. In subsequent years, the Ziesing family also supported the Whitney Fitness Center and later donated additional funds to support the facility in its new home at the Campbell Sports Center. In addition to her 15 years of service to the College as trustee, Faith Whitney Ziesing also held the distinction of being the first alumnae appointed to the faculty. She taught The Social Aspects of Economics.

Other funds designed to support faculty and their teaching include:

• The Merle Rosenblatt Goldman Fund, which supports international inquiry, particularly of Russia, China, and East Asia
• The Helen Merrell Lynd Colloquium Fund, which honors academic excellence and intellectual boldness
• The Donald C. Samuel Fund for Economics and Politics, which brings speakers to campus to engage the Sarah Lawrence community in study and discussion of contemporary political, economic, and social problems

Building Community Online:
Alumnae/i Connect at One Mead Way

In a setting well known for “education in the singular,” building community is a creative endeavor. Consider One Mead Way, the new online gathering place for SLC alums.

“One Mead Way has been in the works for some time now,” notes Courtney deKanter, acting director of alumnae/i relations. “From its inception, the goal was to create a convenient place where alums can stay in touch — at any time, no matter where they are in the world.”

Launched in spring 2007, One Mead Way expands the definition of community by facilitating alumnae/i connections to the College and to one another. SLC graduates can track down classmates; explore career networking avenues; participate in mentoring relationships with current students; and post and review upcoming events. Alums can also communicate via chat rooms and message boards on issues facing the SLC community and the world beyond. And a new monthly e-newsletter features stories from and about faculty and spotlights Sarah Lawrence grads in the news.

Generous Leadership Gifts Support Service Learning at Sarah Lawrence

For Anita Stafford CCE ’78, volunteering has been a lifelong passion—originating in her high school days, when she volunteered once a week at Lenox Hill Hospital, and continuing today with her work for the Indian River Symphonic Association in Vero Beach, Florida. A former Sarah Lawrence trustee, Stafford is also dedicated to Sarah Lawrence and its unique educational system.

Stafford’s passion was formally recognized in September when Sarah Lawrence celebrated the official naming of The Anita L. Stafford Community Partnerships and Service Learning Program, as well as the announcement of a faculty chair that will bear her name.

To mark the occasion, President Karen Lawrence hosted a luncheon in Stafford’s honor. During the luncheon, current students shared their experiences with the program. Stafford says she was impressed by their passion and sense of purpose. "They are so excited about what they are doing — and the confidence with which they share their experiences is inspiring."

She says her education at Sarah Lawrence instilled that same self-confidence. Returning to school as a continuing education student — married with three young children — she immersed herself in philosophy, music, writing, and sociology courses. While at the College, Stafford also volunteered at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. In her own words, she emerged transformed. "When I graduated from Sarah Lawrence, I felt I was prepared for whatever was in store for me."

The leadership gifts Stafford initiated in 2002 will help to ensure the service learning program’s future. The resulting funds will provide students with continued opportunities to learn about and engage in social change through course study, community-based learning placements, immersion trips, and service projects.

In response to Anita Stafford’s challenge grant, Dr. Marjorie Lister ’76 has made three consecutive gifts toward the endowment in honor of Joyce and Carol Pillsbury. Lister’s gifts reflect her commitment to the program’s mission: “I was very impressed by the scope and vision of the program, which sends students as far afield as New Orleans and Latin America to gain vital experience, on the ground, in disaster-hit areas.”

Other donors who have responded to the challenge include Joanne H. Foulk ’46, Adrienne O. Ives ’54, Kenneth C. Kaleida (PAR), Sandra C. Motland ’65, and Elaine Wolf ’48.

The Student Engagement Fund:
Parents Boost Community Spirit

When Sharon Jones released the song I Got the Feelin’, she must have had a premonition of the Fall Formal at SLC. Under an immense tent on Westlands lawn, more than 600 students swung and grooved to the retro-soul sounds of Jones and her back-up band, the Dap-Kings. The wooden dance floor became a kaleidoscope of moving feet that didn’t cease until after midnight — and a spirited encore. The event was a huge success.

Culminating President Karen Lawrence’s inaugural celebration, the Fall Formal was jointly sponsored by the Student Senate and the Student Engagement Fund, an initiative of the newly formed Sarah Lawrence Parents Advisory Council (PAC). This committed group of current and past parents wanted to support innovative initiatives that would enhance community life on campus and engage the student body in new and creative ways.

Trustee David Dull and his wife, Susan Shieldkret, co-chairs of the Parents Advisory Council, made the initial gift to establish the fund in July 2007. Their grant had two purposes: to enhance the quality of student life and to serve as a matching gift challenge to other parents. Almost instantly, the fund achieved success, reaching its goal of $150,000 in less than four months. Such a response indicates that parents have a strong interest in and commitment to bettering the college experience for Sarah Lawrence students, especially when their own children can benefit from the expanded offerings.

The Student Engagement Fund provides for six large-scale campus activities over the next three years, including concerts, academic symposia, and festivals. These events are planned by a committee comprising students, faculty, staff, alumnae/i, and the dean of studies. This year’s funding also brought comedian Michael Ian Black to campus in January and will provide co-sponsorship of the Spring Formal to coincide with the Students for Students Scholarship Fund (SSSF) auction and a campus-wide picnic.

Dull and Shieldkret, parents of Katy Dull ’07, are enthusiastic about the prospect of boosting community spirit on a multitude of levels. “All of us on the PAC are very pleased that so many parents are willing to help the college in this tangible way,” says Dull. “We want to engage parents so they respond to opportunities that can make a difference at SLC in the short term,” says Shieldkret. “The Fall Formal was an exciting start for this new program.”

Students, parents, and staff alike have been delighted with the results. If the success of the Fall Formal is any indication, such parent-led initiatives will continue to make a difference in the day-to-day lives of SLC students.