FAMILY GIVING AT UD--A HISTORY

The University of Delaware has a rich tradition of family giving, a legacy of support that has enabled it to grow from a small private academy into a small college and, through the last half-century, into a large university that prides itself on teaching, research and technology.

Integral to any story about giving to the University of Delaware is the du Pont family, which settled in the state and built what is today a corporate giant. Throughout the past century, the University has been the beneficiary of millions of dollars in philanthropic support from various members of the du Pont family, from foundations established by family members, from corporate executives, and from the corporation itself.

The institution’s first major benefactor was Pierre S. du Pont, who in 1914 offered an anonymous gift of $1 million to begin purchasing land and constructing classroom buildings along the one-half mile swath of land we know today as the Mall. At the time, Delaware College President Samuel Chiles Mitchell called the gift "an epoch in the educational history of the State." The generosity of P.S. du Pont continues today through gifts from the Longwood Foundation, which he endowed.

Following in the family tradition of support for the University were such noted benefactors as the Lairds, the Sharps – a stock gift from H. Rodney Sharp in 1950 was the heart of the University’s endowment, growing in value to $58,000,000 at the time of his death in 1968 – and Amy E. du Pont, founder of the Unidel Foundation, which remains a major benefactor.

In addition, the University athletic program owes much to the generosity of the Carpenter family, which since the early 1940s has provided funds for salaries, scholarships and facilities, including the sparkling Bob Carpenter Sports and Convocation Center, home to the Fightin’ Blue Hen men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Sustaining that legacy of family philanthropic efforts is an active group of benefactors, including the Allens, the Townsends, and the Gores, founders of W.L. Gore & Associates. One of the University’s newest buildings, Gore Hall, a beautiful addition to the Mall, was funded through a $17.5 million gift from alumnus and trustee Robert W. Gore ’59, alumna Sarah I. Gore ’76M, and Genevieve W. Gore.