Senior Class Gift
PHOTO:

History of the Senior Class Gift

Have you ever …

  • pulled long hours in the library and relied on an invigorating cup of coffee from Matthew’s Bean to get you through the night?
  • taken a walk in the Shakespeare garden and reveled in the calming beauty of its environs?
  • relied on those trusty i-books in the library to finish a paper, or remarked at the convenience of wireless access in the stacks?
  • explored the organic life growing in the ecostudy pond out at Sunset Lake?
  • learned something new from a professor’s latest research?

Did you know that these common Vassar experiences would not be possible without past contributions from the Senior Class Gift?

The tradition of giving a Senior Class Gift has been shaping the Vassar experience for over sixty years, enabling students to leave their mark on the community in a variety of significant ways. In the early stages of its history (see chart below), the Senior Class Gift most commonly benefited faculty and students with contributions to salary endowments, research scholarships, and financial aid funds. In recent decades, however, the contributions of the senior class have become increasingly personalized, as students come together to express their unique identity through the spirit of giving.

Today, hardly a single member of the campus community has not benefited from at least one of these legacies. The capacity for generosity at Vassar is huge and continues to grow with every year, as projects become increasingly ambitious. In 2001, gifts reached a whole new level of potential when an alumnus “challenged” the class to reach specific goals. Combining the class’s gifts with matched dollars from alumnae/i donors, seniors are now able to consider even more significant ways to leave their mark on the community. In addition to fostering alumnae/i-student relations, the alumnae/i challenger has proven successful in increasing senior class participation and enthusiasm for the significance of each gift.

The following chart outlines the history of the Senior Class Gift and indicates some interesting trends and changes over time. In the early years of the Senior Class Gift, from the early 1940s through to 1967, parents were solicited as part of the gift. The generous contributions of parents ranged from $5,466 in 1949 to $41,078 in 1956. Around 1967, the Senior Class Gift became just that – a gift from members of the senior class and not from their parents.

The chart also reflects the addition of alumnae/i challengers beginning with the Class of 2001.

Class Gift Designation Participation Total Raised
2007 Solar Panels on the College Center 412 students (71%) $39,650
2006 Renovation of Matthew’s Mug 372 students (63%) $39,304
2005 Faculty Research Grant Fund 405 students (62%) $20,744
2004 Library Wireless Network 356 students (60%) $16,339
2003 Sound Equipment 403 students (68%) $11,862
2002 Matthew’s Bean 314 students (59%) $30,890
20011 Library Laptops 320 students (55%) $17,099
2000 Textbook Scholarship Fund, Hill Spring Ecostudy Pond 298 students (53%) $16,480
1999 Scholarships, Minority Scholar in Residence Program 294 students (51%) $5,040
1998 Scholarships, Library Book Fund 180 students $5,433
1997 TA Bridge, Scholarships 132 students (25%) $2,608
1996 Pratt House Fountain, Athletics, Career Development, Scholarships 200 students $4,618
1995 No Specific Designation 231 students $42,399
1994 Fund for Interactive Education 121 students $2,394
1993 Library Book Fund 201 students $4,345
1992 Student Computer Equipment 130 students $2,301
1991 Fund to improve access for differently-abled students into College Center 302 students (56%) $3,669
1986 Scholarship Fund unknown $6,441
1985 Scholarship Endowment unknown $4,228
1984 Audio-visual equipment, Blodgett unknown $4,022
1983 Renovation of Shakespeare Garden unknown $3,758
1982 Endowed scholarship fund unknown $6,745
1981 Lobby renovation in Main unknown $3,706
1980 Completion of repair and renovation of chapel bells unknown $2,491
1979 Repair of chapel bells unknown $2,623
1978 Unknown unknown $3,350
1977 Lobby renovation in Main unknown $9,401
1976 Renovation of Rose Parlor unknown $10,292
1975 Renovation of Rose Parlor 42% $18,000
1974 Unknown unknown $1,741
1973 Furnishings in College Centerunknown unknown
1967 Library Book Fund 81%
(308 students)		 $17,6362
1966 Faculty Salaries Endowment 79%
(288 students)		 $18,873
1965 Faculty Salaries Endowment 88%
(312 students)		 $21,577
1964 Faculty Salaries Endowment 85%
(287 students)		 $14,448
1963 Faculty Salaries Endowment 97%
(313 students)		 $18,342
1962 Fund for periodicals 91%
(254 students)		 $21,222
1961 Scholarship Fund 87%
(266 students)		 $22,927
1960 Faculty Salaries Endowment 77%
(210 students)		 $18,913
1959 Faculty research and publication 95%
(277 students)		 $31,738
1958 Faculty Salaries Endowment 91%
(275 students)		 $27,306
1957 Faculty Salaries Endowment 94%
(290 students)		 $30,953
1956 Faculty Salaries Endowment 97%
(264 students)		 $44,964
1955 Scholarship Fund 92%
(270 students)		 $26,609
1954 Scholarship Fund 92%
(247 students)		 $17,003
1953 Scholarship Fund 97%
(284 students)		 $35,636
1952 Scholarship Fund 95%
(292 students)		 $27,300
1951 Scholarship Fund 81%
(248 students)		 $19,676
1950 Scholarship Fund 97%
(309 students)		 $13,211
1949 Scholarship Fund 94%
(250 students)		 $7,265
1948 Scholarship Fund 91%
(265 students)		 $7,524
1947 Scholarship Fund 98%
(279 students)		 $22,841
1946 Scholarship Fund 98%
(382 students)		 $25,000
1945 Scholarship Fund 91%
(283 students)		 $10,480
1945-43 Scholarship Fund 100%
(275 students)		 $10,800
1944 Scholarship Fund 95%
(264 students)		 $9,710
For the classes of 2001 and above, totals include gifts from alumnae/i challengers.
Class totals from 1944 through 1967 include the contributions of parents.
The history of the class denoted “1945-4” is also interesting to note. Although members of this class originally matriculated as part of the class of 1945, they accelerated their enrollment, graduating in three years time (1944) in order to help with the war effort, and keeping the nation's economy running while men were fighting overseas. Their stories mark an important time in the history of the nation, as well as in the history of Vassar.