University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
The Messenger
Vol. 5, No. 1/1995
Recognition: A Special Report
Class of '55 Raises Funds for Ethics Endowment

     It all started four years ago when several 1955 Delaware
graduates gathered not far from Washington, D.C., at the home of
classmate Gordon Murray. The conversation eventually locked on
the topic of ethics.
     "We were probably involved in some major crisis in
Washington at the time," recalls New Castle, Del., resident Ruth Draper,
Delaware '55, who works as a counselor and social worker for the
Appoquinimink School District. "So, we thought, 'Why not try to
raise some money to support lectures and seminars or other
activities related to ethics?'"
     Thus was born the Ethics Endowment Fund, sponsored by the
Class of '55 in recognition of its 40th reunion this year. At
press time, the Class of '55 had raised $82,000, making the
contribution among the largest class fund-raising efforts in the
University's history, notes Joseph Bradley, director of annual
giving. (The Class of '40 is still #1, having raised $110,000 for
its 50th reunion.)
     The Class of '55 Campaign was directed by Murray, Draper and
Frank Gyetvan of Hilton Head, S.C. Gyetvan, a political science
major and former football player at Delaware, became a marketing
executive after graduation. Inventor of the now-ubiquitous yellow
"Baby on Board" signs posted in car windows, Gyetvan agreed to
help raise money as a way to honor his former athletic coaches.
     "I came to Delaware around the same time that [the late]
Coach Dave Nelson arrived," Gyetvan explains. "I went to Delaware
on a football scholarship, and I've always felt that the time I 
spent on the athletic fields and the education I received at Delaware 
were instrumental in pretty much everything I did in my life."
     Ruth Draper transferred to Delaware from the University of
Arizona, mainly to please her father, the late William Reed
Draper, Delaware '30, a former president of the Alumni
Association. She has never been sorry. "The University has meant
a great deal to me," she says. "I spent 10 years
working with the former Friends of the Performing Arts, a
community and University group. I like to feel that I'm making a
contribution."
     Class gifts provide alumni with an opportunity to support
the University in a special way, over and above regular annual
giving, Bradley says.
     "We're very fortunate at the University to have loyal alumni
like Ruth, Frank and Gordon who are willing to work so hard on
our behalf," he adds.
     Those who wish to contribute to the Class of '55 Campaign
should contact Bradley at (302) 831-2104.