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.