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Class of '83 Breaks Records with Reunion Gift

Monday, August 11, 2008
At the June Reunion 2008 lunch on Grounds for UVa School of Architecture alumni, a trio of friends celebrating their 25th Reunion listened intently to Dean Karen Van Lengen’s appeal for giving in light of declining state contributions to the University. As the dean explained, rising costs combined with reduced state funding means that financial support from private donations will be critical to advance the top-level academic programming for which the Architecture School is so highly regarded. Stephanie Mashek (BSArch’83) was moved by the dean’s words to make a difference. She spoke with fellow classmates Mary Horst Buchanan and Lisa Gould about working together to challenge all alumni from the School’s Class of 1983 to raise $50,000 in unrestricted funds by the end of the fiscal year. Adding to the challenge was the fact that the end of the fiscal year was only a couple weeks away. To jump start the two week campaign, Mashek, Horst Buchanan, and Gould joined Dean’s Forum, the School’s giving society, with a pledge of $5,000 each across the next five years. Upon returning home, the friends e-mailed the entire class to announce their hopes for a substantial class gift, and to share the challenge, “Please join us in this effort to ensure that all the great memories we have of the A-School will be experienced by future generations, and that its great legacy will endure.” Kim Wong, Assistant Director of Operations and Alumni Relations for the UVa School of Architecture Foundation, who assisted the Class of 1983 in reaching their goal, attributed their success to a vibrant connection to the School and to each other. “All weekend they expressed gratitude to the School for challenging them as students 25 years ago, so when they saw the opportunity to help the students and faculty for five years until their next reunion year, they stepped up and took the challenge,” she said. The UVa School of Architecture Class of 1983 raised $49,500 in just 17 days, for a total 25th Reunion Gift of $59,483. The grand total includes approximately $10,000 raised by Tony Santoro (BSArch’83) in the weeks leading up to Reunion. In a message to the alumni following their remarkable gift, Dean Van Lengen expressed her gratitude, “The money you donated will support new faculty projects, allow for more travel, provide the right supplies and technological advances and give them the tools to better educate our students and the architectural community as a whole. I cannot thank you enough. “This amazing accomplishment is a testament to the generosity and lasting camaraderie of the School of Architecture Class of 1983 and truly exemplifies how one group of people can join together and significantly impact the School,” she said. The Class of 1983 gift contributed greatly to a banner fiscal year 2008 for unrestricted gifts to the UVa School of Architecture Foundation.

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