Uni class of 1973 creates a legacy for themselves

This story has been edited to show the 100th aniversary of Uni will be 2021, not 2023. 

Uni High recently received a donation larger than any single class has ever given. The donation was a whopping $25,000 and was donated by alums from the Uni class of 1973.

The donation was given during Alumni Agora Day of this year, a day when Uni Alums from previous years come back to teach a class of their choosing. This is surprising as the class reunions were for the “8” classes (1968, 1978, 1988…) but this donation was given by the class of 1973. This is because 5 years ago, during the “3” class reunions, the class of 1973 made a goal to donate $25,000 in five years. The deadline of those five years came at Alumni Agora Day.

“Our class loves to get together,” says Jennifer Stone, Uni Alum from the class of 1973. “We have reunions in C-U every 5 years, and smaller groups of us get together in between.”  

Although the donation will not get the school any more rolly chairs, the donation will help students who need it the most. Small donations go to the general fund, where donors do not get to decide where the donation goes. But with large donations like this one, the donors do get to decide.  The class of 1973 had 3 options to where they could give their donation. Their donation could go to teacher salaries, professional development, or student waivers. They ultimately chose student waivers. It’s “for those families in need,” says Josh Hall, assistant Director of Advancement at Uni. The total student fees for this year was $1,070, which, along with $180 per sport, may be a unreasonable amount of money for some Uni families, making this donation necessary.

The donation was an endowment, meaning it will never be truly spent. “Instead, they’re invested,” says Hall. The earnings of this investment (4%) is what will go to help student waivers.

The class of 1973 has certainly created a legacy for themselves. In fact, they have inspired many other classes to come together to help get a donation going for themselves. The classes of 1984 and 1986 have both started a $25,000 donation goal for their respective classes.

Despite their incredible accomplishment, the class of 1973 is not done yet. The class hopes to donate $25,000 more by Uni’s 100th anniversary (2021). “Given the enthusiasm with which the Class of ’73 met this goal (the $25,000 by their 45th reunion), we immediately set a new goal,” says Stone. “50 by 100” is what they call their new incentive.