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UM
graduate attending 70th reunion gives to pharmacy
As
the classes of 1952 and 1942 mingled with this year's graduates
during Commencement activities, they were met by three who
have an even longer history with UM: Georgia Stripp Rowe,
Evelyn Rimel and Lewis Ambrose, who observed the 70th anniversary
of their graduation.
Rowe
looked forward to seeing her classmates, whom she admitted
she hadn't known well because there hadn't been much time
for socializing during her college years.
"That
was during the Depression, you know, and we all had jobs,
so it was pretty much all we could do to go to classes and
then work to pay our tuition," she said.
Her
University jobs were in the business office; as
a student assistant in biology, which was her major; and
as dormitory proctor. She also sold football game tickets
"for 25 cents, I think." When she finished selling
game tickets, she'd run the money to the business office
and then hurry back to the game, usually to find it had
already ended.
These
days Rowe is turning in more than game-day proceeds to UM.
She, along with her son Tom Rowe Jr. of Durham, N.C., just
made a second major gift to the School of Pharmacy and Allied
Health Sciences, the UM school from which her late husband,
Tom, earned degrees in 1932 and 1933.
She
did not put restrictions on the gift other than that Dean
Dave Forbes use it for the school's great needs. These needs
may vary from year to year, so the gift is tremendously
valuable.
"We
can't anticipate what will be our most critical needs in
the years to come," Forbes said, "so we appreciate
Georgia's foresight and generosity, as well as her trust
in us to do what will provide the greatest benefit to pharmacy
students."
Tom
Rowe Sr., who died in 1997, had been a pharmacy professor
at the University of Nebraska and the Medical Center of
Virginia, and he later served as pharmacy dean at Rutgers
and the University of Michigan. During his career the Rowes
learned the importance of private gifts to support academic
programming in pharmacy schools.
"I
know there are always needs in the school that can be met,"
Mrs. Rowe said, "and I am thankful to be able to provide
funds like this to support pharmacy education."
Now
a resident of Sun City, Ariz., Rowe will visit UM's Skaggs
pharmacy building, where Room 117, the school's premier
electronic classroom, bears her husband's name, acknowledging
his contributions to pharmacy education and the financial
support his widow and son have provided to UM.
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