Meet Our Donors
We thank all our planned-gift donors for their generous support. Here are some of their stories.
 |
"It's almost a question of national security," says Snyder, who is retired from Eastman Kodak Company, where he ended his lengthy career with the title of director of training for the company's research laboratories. "We need to have well-trained and well-qualified technical people, especially engineers, to compete on a world economic basis. If we're going to keep our piece of the pie in the world, we need to have the best we can give." |
 |
Bernard Goldstein, MD and Russellyn Carruth, Esquire have been outstanding philanthropic leaders for the University of Pittsburgh. Bernie, former dean of the Graduate School of Public Health, and his wife, adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Law, Russellyn, are proud to continuously support the University – and the Graduate School of Public Health – by providing generous gifts to ensure its successful future. Read more about Bernard and Russellyn and their gift to Pitt |
 |
Carol (EDUC '64) Zord McGrevin and Gene (ECN/PSC '66) McGrevin have dedicated their lives to working within the fields of education and medicine respectively. Their passion has guided the creation of funds providing opportunities for motivated students to follow similar ambitions. In order to achieve their mission, they have created a trust split equally between a scholarship for the School of Education and the School of Medicine in addition to other gifts they have given. |
 |
Joseph Koslow (PHARM '38) truly believed that generosity brought interconnectedness among people. His daughter remembers him always saying, “Never forget the people who helped you get where you are.” As a testament to that philosophy, Joseph Koslow, who died in 1990 and his wife, Joan, who died in 1996, left a generous, unrestricted gift to the School of Pharmacy. Joe and Joan's daughter, Barbara, and her husband Ted Reineking, chose to apply this gift to scholarships and research in pharmacogenetics – a field that did not exist just a decade ago. |
|
Dr. Monto and Mrs. Carol Ho (SIS '68) Dr. Monto Ho, professor emeritus and retired chair of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh, and his wife Carol (SIS ‘68 MLS) have been a part of the Pitt community for many years. Since serving others has always been an integral part of their lives, they recently chose to make a significant impact on the department that Dr. Ho created and led for twenty years by endowing a chair in the Graduate School of Public Health. The Hos chose to create the chair through a gift of a life insurance policy. “The cost to endow a chair is $2 million and my wife and I are not rich. In order to raise the money needed to endow the chair with the limited funds we had, we took the advice of a very good financial advisor,” Dr. Ho says of their planned giving decision. Dr. Ho and Carol, a retired medical librarian at St. Clair Hospital, are proud that their legacy will remain at the University of Pittsburgh. “Knowing that we have been able to make a difference in the future study of infectious diseases is such a rewarding feeling,” Dr. Ho says, “We are honored to play a role in its continued success.” |
 |
Joanne (A&S ’62) and Ellsworth Bowser Joanne (A&S ’62) and Ellsworth Bowser, DDS (A&S ’58, DEN ’60), are Pittsburghers through and through, and are passionate about supporting the University of Pittsburgh. “It’s such an integral part of the city, and our family has had so many good experiences there,” said Joanne. “His father went to dental school, and our kids had the chance to participate in the Semester at Sea program, it was just natural for us to support the University.” Through the years Joanne and Ellsworth have made contributions to the School of Dental Medicine in memory of Ellsworth’s father, and to the Athletics Department in honor and memory of their son David. Recently, the Bowsers decided to leave a legacy to the University of Pittsburgh by placing a specific bequest in their will. “It just made sense to us,” Ellsworth said. “It’s a win-win situation. You’re helping other people and contributing something to the future. It’s very gratifying to be able to offer someone an opportunity they might not have otherwise had and to contribute on a larger scale to the future of Western Pennsylvania.” |
 |
Mildred (Millie) Danch, Friend of Pitt Mildred (Millie) Danch is many things: independent, caring, philanthropic, involved… She currently runs her own business, nurtures her large garden on the family farm in eastern Ohio, and enjoys her travels. Being Millie, she has also elected to make a generous gift to the University in a very special and meaningful way: Millie has made provisions in her will to gift her family's farm (and the contents) to meet her philanthropic goals. As legacies go, Millie's decision to use something so important to her past to make the future better for those who come after her is a standout. |
 |
Jim (ENGR ’59) and Peggy Degnan Jim (ENGR ’59) and Peggy Degnan are enjoying their retirement. After 47 years of marriage and Jim’s many years as vice chair and CEO of the M.W. Kellogg Company, the couple is at a place in their lives where they want to give back. Jim and Peggy have established the James and Margaret Degnan Scholarship to support undergraduate and graduate Engineering students. But their generosity didn’t end there. After establishing the scholarship, Jim and Peggy started planning their legacy gift to the School. They learned about the charitable gift annuity option that provides an immediate quarterly annuity payment to them and will benefit their established scholarship later. The Degnans have since created two charitable gift annuities and are enjoying the benefits. |
Click here
