Faculty/Staff Campaign
This article was originally printed in the November 1999 issue of CLASnotes.
Once
again the faculty and staff at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
have shown the rest of the university why it is we are so successful.
During the Faculty-Staff Campaign—"My Performance Counts"—CLAS
raised more than any other college in gifts and pledges from current and
retired faculty and staff. The percentage of participation is one of the
highest among all the colleges with 398 current faculty and staff and
54 retired individuals making contributions (see graphic, below). University wide, the Faculty-Staff Campaign has raised over $18.7 million since it began in April, far exceeding the original goal of $10 million. Faculty and staff from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alone contributed $4.6 million, 25% of the total dollars raised for the campaign.
"We
couldn't be happier with the results of the Faculty-Staff Campaign," says Carter
Boydstun, Senior Director of Development at the University of Florida Foundation. "The
best part about this is that the departments are the direct beneficiaries of
this tremendous display of generosity. All of these gifts will be put to use
in the area for which they were intended and in the end the entire college
benefits. We have a lot to be proud of when it comes to our staff and faculty
in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences."
CLAS Faculty/Staff Campaign Total: $4,667,705
French Professor's Bequest Will Endow Visiting Professorship in Humanities
"UF is my home," says French professor William Calin, explaining why he recently made a large bequest to CLAS. "I wanted to show my commitment to this fine university."
Dr. Calin has been a graduate research professor in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures since 1988, when he was hired from among the scores of outstanding international scholars who applied for the prestigious post. "He publishes and lectures widely and with distinction, is a superb teacher, and an unusually engaged professional citizen within the University of Florida and beyond it," says Geraldine Nichols, romance literature and languages department chair.
Calin's bequest will endow the "William Calin Visiting Professorship," which will rotate yearly among the six disciplines closest to its benefactor's intellect and heart: French, German, religion, Spanish, history, and English. "Visiting professors have been a rarity in CLAS, and more's the pity, since they benefit their hosts in so many ways," says Nichols. "They bring new ideas and standpoints to students and colleagues, and they take away a new appreciation for their host departments and universities."
"It's always a good idea to bring in fresh minds, distinguished scholars from the outside who can invigorate and enrich us," agrees Calin. "I'm also interested in forging more interdisciplinary connections within the humanities, to bring the humanities together so to speak. I hope this will encourage others to make gifts of a similar nature."
Credits
Writer
Jennifer Denault, CLAS Director of Development and Alumni Affairs
