- The Ward family: Brian, Alexander ’07, Lee Ann Koehler, and Christopher ’10.
At Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, Brian Ward is the teacher who makes sure the guidance office is always stocked with UMass Amherst admissions brochures and promotes the school to graduating seniors. An English teacher for 34 years, Ward further endorses the campus by making annual gifts, starting in 2003 when his son, Alexander ’07, was a freshman.
Alexander, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s in
history from Commonwealth College, is following the example set by
his father, making philanthropy a family tradition. He is one of many
graduating seniors who made a financial contribution to the Senior
Campaign 2007. “The amount is not huge but we like to give, and some
day I’d like to come back like Mr. Jack Welch ’57 [former CEO of General
Electric] and give as much as I can,” says Alexander.
Brian Ward says switching allegiance from his own alma mater to UMass
Amherst was easy. His former students have thrived on campus, as has
Alexander and his second son, Christopher, who is Class of 2010.
“My sons have grown so much, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually,
every which way you can think of,” says Brian Ward.
Alexander says his senior gift was made to show gratitude for his education
and experience at UMass Amherst. “I’ve loved this campus since the
winter day when we first visited … it was snowing, and people were
slipping in all the slush.”
Both son and father say they recognize the need to financially support
public education, that private funds make the difference between a
good and an excellent campus. For example, Alexander’s senior gift
will be used to restore Isle of View, an outdoor sculpture behind the
Fine Arts Center created in 1981 by an internationally acclaimed artist.
The gifts made by Brian Ward and his wife, Lee Ann Koehler, have been
earmarked to support the W.E.B. Du Bois Library, the History Department,
and for unrestricted purposes.
Donations clearly benefit the school and its students, but Brian Ward
says he also benefits. “I’m not a joiner. I don’t belong to clubs.
But my giving makes me feel part of the community at UMass Amherst.”
