March 2003
Dear Classmates:
As you know by now, we have lost our good friend and our class’s great communicator, Tom Wersell. He kept us informed about each other and our alma mater for forty-seven years.
Tom was Tom Anderson when we shared life at Gustavus, but after he launched his productive career in the ministry as Tom Wersell, we found it easier to distinguish him from other Anderson alumni, especially several Tom Andersons. From visits and class reunions during the past 65 years, I know that several others in the class made lesser changes in their names since college days. I eventually traded in “Gammy” and “Fran” for “Frank.”
As our class agent, Tom kept us informed about one another and Gustavus. I’ll pick up his pen for a while, but will welcome your contributions―from squibs to long letters about your college memories, your career, or your retirement. Send me a note at 500 West Jackson Street, Saint Peter, MN 56082, or an email (I love email!) at fgamelin@prairie.lakes.com.
When we graduated in 1938, we were a class of 91. The 30 of us who survive are three times as old as we were then, and we’re now living on the hardy but riskier side of the longevity tables. Personally, I’m surprised to have lived past 85 and to have outlived all the direct ancestors I knew in childhood and most of those of the past 400 years on whom I have genealogical information.
In line with typical longevity data, the women of our class are doing better than us men, according to the list supplied by our alumni office. Of our original 31 women, 15 have reached this 65th year since graduation, while only 12 of 60 men have made it. That’s a 48% survival rate for our women compared with a 20% rate for us men. Does that prove that, ultimately, men are the weaker sex?
How many of our living 27 can make our 65th anniversary celebration at Gustavus on May 28-30? The college will entertain us royally, and I’ll arrange a special session for us and any others at the 50-Year Club dinner that attended Gustavus when we did. I hope to see most of you there.
Sincerely,
Francis Gamelin
1938 Class Agent
P. S. Now for some news from campus:
Dr. James Peterson '64, president and CEO of the Science Museum in St. Paul, MN, has been named the 14th president of Gustavus Adolphus College. You may read about the president at: http://gustavus.edu/president/new/
Our Building a
Greater Gustavus Campaign Success Interpreted
There are many questions among alumni, students and parents about the College’s financial situation. People hear of our success in the capital campaign and ask, “How come the budget is so tight and some items are being cut?”
One might look at an $80 million total to date of the $100 million goal and conclude that we have plenty of spendable resources. A closer look at the designations of our campaign gift and pledges hopefully provides a helpful explanation. During the past 5 years of this 6 ½ year campaign:
$23 million has been given for post-tornado rebuilding projects, including the Jackson Campus Center, the new outdoor track, the Curtis and Arleen Carlson International Center, a new residence hall and the replanting of trees. As I’ve already reported, another $1 million has been designated for Old Main renovation.
$24 million has been committed to us in the form of “future gift” commitments. These are typically planned gifts that provide an income to the donor, or they are bequest commitments. In either case, these are not dollars that are available for the College to use at this time. However, they hold great promise for the future.
$16 million has been given to the College’s endowment fund to support scholarships, academic chairs and other programs. While our endowment is significantly below that of our comparison schools, we must continue our progress toward increasing that number well beyond the end of this particular campaign.
$8 million has been received as restricted dollars for various programs such as the Center for Vocational Reflection funded through a grant from the Lilly Endowment.
$8 million – approximately $1.5 million per year – has been received without restriction. These are the only dollars raised during the course of the campaign available for use in the College’s $60 million annual operating budget. Herein lie the concerns related to our present budget challenge and where you can make the greatest impact. We are in the second year of the three-year 50 by 50 Campaign. The goal is to achieve 50 percent participation of all alumni in the Alumni Fund by the 50th Anniversary in 2004. Our class totals through January 31, 2002 are 10 donors and $10,432 in total gifts. Our goal is to achieve 26 donors by May 31, 2003. Thanks to those that have made their gift. If you have not made your gift yet, please respond to the next mailing, log on to gustavus.edu, or call toll free 866-487-3863. Remember, while we were students, we benefited from alumni who made gifts to the alumni fund. Let’s do our part to help future Gusties.