Awards have been presented to six classes across five decades for their participation in alumni giving and annual fund contributions to ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾—with one class winning two awards—as well as to a number of volunteers.
“It was a tremendous year for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾,” said Christi Lumiere, executive director of annual giving at the College. “In the final year of the From Here campaign, we saw record-breaking giving totals in the Alumni Fund, and there’s no way that would have happened without the continued dedication of our nearly 900 alumni class agent volunteers. My team and I have so much gratitude and admiration for the ways they continue to show up for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾.”
Volunteer and Team Awards
Robert M. Cross Award: Established in 1990, the Robert M. Cross Award is awarded annually to the class agent or agents whose outstanding performance, hard work, and loyalty to ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾, as personified by Robert M. Cross ’45, H’89 during his many years of association with the fund, are deserving of special recognition. This year’s award recognized Matthew Egan ’12 for what his nominator, Christi Lumiere, called “the tremendous time and effort he put into making the second annual Go U Bears Athletic Fund Challenge a great success.” Lumiere also praised Egan for going “above and beyond,” noting how “his efforts yielded the highest volume of gifts generated by volunteers for the challenge.”
Class of 1976 Trophy: Established in 2004, the Class of 1976 Trophy is awarded annually to the class agent or team of volunteers whose energy, creativity, and leadership in a non-reunion year are deserving of special recognition. The 2023-24 trophy goes to Class of 2008 lead class agent Andrew Fried ’08.
Isabel Crawford ’20, assistant director of annual giving, and Catia Cunha, department coordinator for annual giving—Fried’s nominators—agreed that he stepped up to craft lighthearted solicitations for the class following their massive engagement and fundraising efforts during their fifteenth reunion in 2023. Crawford says, “Andrew wrote the kind of creative text that can only feel authentic coming from a peer. He’s taken on so much work this year and breathed new life into an otherwise-exhausted post-Reunion class.”
Alumni Fund Directors’ Trophy: Established in 1972 by the directors of the Alumni Fund, the Alumni Fund Directors’ Trophy is awarded annually to the class that, in the opinion of the directors, achieved an outstanding performance that deserves special mention. This year, that honor goes to the Class of 1989—35th Reunion Committee.
Led by co-chairs Kathleen Burke, Liz Cahn, and Mark Lenhart, the volunteers set an ambitious goal of achieving 50 percent participation in annual giving from their classmates this year. “Much of their success was influenced by a Reunion Challenge during ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾One Day,” commented nominator Sarah Daniels, an assistant director of annual giving at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾. “An anonymous classmate offered a $10,000 challenge if 50 classmates made gifts during the effort. The 35th Reunion Committee leveraged the opportunity and not only unlocked the challenge with fifty-five donors, but also ended up being the class with the most donors during ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾One Day, the first time a non-GOLD (graduates of the last decade) class took the number one spot during this annual effort.”
Class Awards
Leon W. Babcock Plate: Awarded annually to the nonreunion class making the largest contribution to the Alumni Fund, this award was created in 1980 by William L. Babcock Jr. ’69 in honor of his grandfather, Leon W. Babcock ’17. This year’s winner is the Class of 1976, which raised $566,507 for the Alumni Fund.
Alumni Fund Cup: Awarded annually since 1932, the Alumni Fund Cup recognizes the reunion class making the largest contribution to the Alumni Fund. The cup for 2023-24 goes to the Class of 1964 which raised $1,307,734 for the Alumni Fund—a record-breaking total for the 60th Reunion class which was greatly influenced by the incredible generosity of Glen Morie ’64 who made a $1 million gift to the Alumni Fund to support the College where it’s needed most to commemorate this milestone reunion year. Unsurprisingly, this class also broke the fundraising record for the 60th Reunion, which was previously held by the Class of 1962, which raised $192,619 in fiscal year 2021-22.
The Class of 1964 won the Alumni Fund cup for its record-breaking efforts on its 60th Reunion
Class of 1916 Bowl: Awarded annually to the class with the greatest improvement over its Alumni Fund performance of the preceding year, the original Class of 1916 Bowl was presented to the College by the Class of 1916 in 1959. The bowl recipient this year is the Class of 1974, which raised $374,073—a 556 percent increase over FY23. During their milestone 50th Reunion year, this is the most money raised by the Class of 1974 in a single fiscal year.
Class of 1929 Trophy: Established in 1963 by the Class of 1929, the award recognizes one of the ten youngest classes attaining the highest percentage of participation in annual giving. This year’s award goes to the Class of 2014, which ended the fiscal year with a 36.7 percent participation rate.
Robert Seaver Edwards Trophy: Awarded annually to one of the ten youngest classes making the largest contribution to the Alumni Fund, the Edwards Trophy honors Robert Seaver Edwards, Class of 1900. It was presented to the College in 1965. Members of the Class of 2014 added to their honors by also picking up this award, after raising $18,447.
In their 10th Reunion year, the Class of 2014—seen here proudly wearing T-shirts in support of classmate Evan Gershkovich—raised $7,194 more for the Alumni Fund than their fundraising total last year and 116 classmates came back to campus to celebrate their reunion
