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Meet Our Donors

We thank all our planned-gift donors for their generous support. Here are some of their stories.

Mark Wittow 73F

I first thought of leaving Hampshire a bequest in the course of preparing wills for my wife Gail and me, shortly after we had our first child. After providing for her and our children if anything happened to me, I was happy to speculate on what disposition of whatever assets I managed to acquire might do the most good for others. In addition to a few special friends and relatives, and some worthy nonprofits, I thought of Hampshire, even though at that point I was 15 years and 4,000 miles away.

Given the way that Hampshire operates and its relatively limited means, I knew that even a modest bequest could make a difference there. I had kept in touch with some of the people and programs at Hampshire in the intervening years, and I was proud of the continuing creativity and social concern of the Hampshire community.

At some point in the future, when I leave the world (as we all do), I hope to help Hampshire survive, thrive, and continue to improve the world for many years to come.

Sig Roos 73F

My wife and I give to a lot of charities. We ponder, how do you decide? Do I give to Physicians for Human Rights who are doing work in Darfur or do I give to Hampshire? I still make the choice to give to Hampshire more. When you give to Hampshire, it has a lasting effect.

I want to give back to people who made sacrifices for me, to the teachers who make less than I did as a young lawyer. I also want to make sure Hampshire is available to other people like me who can then go out in the world and give day after day and year after year.

It’s really obvious to me that there aren’t many places like Hampshire. People who graduate from Hampshire and people who work at Hampshire truly believe that the resources they have, whether they be intellectual, financial, or simply temporal, are to be used for the improvement of the human and natural condition. I don’t think it’s an accident that the staff, faculty, and students all have a deep commitment to social change. I want to continue producing these powerful, creative, committed people. Giving to Hampshire can have an impact like that.