Notable Gifts

Fund Aids Variety of University Programs

Martin Messinger ’49 has donated $1 million earmarked for a variety of programs he benefited from while attending the University, including Rush Rhees Library, the Eastman School of Music, the College debate program, and the Judaic studies program. Messinger also has donated $1 million to the Eastman Community Music School, which has been renamed Messinger Hall in honor of his mother, Anne Waltuck Messinger.

Scholarship Founded for Part-Time Simon Students

Martin Suter ’59 knows a lot about studying for a degree part time. While he was working full time and raising a family, he took night classes at the University and obtained a B.S. degree in 1959. Now a real estate broker and appraiser, Suter and his wife, Suzanne, have established the Martin L. and Suzanne S. Suter Scholarship for Part-Time Students at the Simon School.

Auditorium in BME–Optics Building to Be Named for Alumnus

Thomas Sloan ’65, ’67 (Mas) and his wife, Linda ’67, have donated $1 million toward the new BME–Optics Building. The auditorium will be named after Tom Sloan, who received his master’s degree from the Institute of Optics in 1967.

Med School Alum Establishes Scholarship Seed Fund

Robert Brent ’48, ’53M (MD), ’55M (PhD), ’88 (HNR) and his wife, Lillian ’50, have donated $1 million to the School of Medicine and Dentistry as part of an effort to increase funds for scholarships to help alleviate student debt. In honor of the Brents’ gift, the Medical School has named the “white coat ceremony”—where incoming medical students receive their lab coats—in their honor.