Life-Changing Service

on to earn an M.S. in accounting and nance at Syracuse University, and enjoyed a long career as a nancial analyst and programmer on Wall Street — explains that his HWS education “gave me personal and economic success. I credit [the Colleges] with the highest aspiration of education, which is to teach people how to think, not what to think. It was glorious and ful lled me in a way I didn’t really think was possible.”

▲ Austin Hassett ’69 on Keuka Lake.

LEAVE A LASTING LEGACY

Throughout the Colleges’ history, alums and friends have made a lasting impact on campus through planned gifts. Since 1989, those dedicated donors have been recognized as members of the Wheeler Society. Honor your HWS experience by becoming a member today. Contact Angela Tallo ’05, Director of Planned Giving and the Wheeler Society, at tallo@ hws.edu or (315) 781–3545.

P.S. For those classes celebrating their 50th Reunion this year, documenting your legacy will count toward your Class Gift!

myhwslegacy.org

RECOGNIZING LIFE-CHANGING SERVICE

The Trustee Community Service Award was presented to Betsy Hacker Dexheimer ’57, GP ’18 for her decades of service in Western New York communities.

Last fall, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to honor Betsy Hacker Dexheimer ’57, GP ’18 for her longstanding service in the greater Buffalo-Rochester area, particularly her work and advocacy in service of women, children, seniors and low-income residents.

Dexheimer, who led a long career as a special education teacher in Batavia, N.Y., worked with migrant and low-income families for more than 50 years, founding a migrant childcare center and helping expand low-income housing. She was a member of the women’s advocacy group GLOW Women Rise, as well as the Advisory Council for the New York State Office for the Aging Livable Community Vision Team. She also served Meals on Wheels, delivered books to homebound residents for Richmond Memorial Library and volunteered at Crossroads Hospice Center. A longtime Planned Parenthood volunteer, she served the organization’s rape crisis division for more than a decade, making herself available 24/7 to support and advocate for women in need.

“Betsy has dedicated herself to making her community stronger, healthier and more caring, both in her career as an educator and in her tireless volunteer work with and on behalf of her neighbors,” says Craig Stine ’81, P’17, Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Trustee Allison Morrow ’76, chair of the Board’s honors committee, adds, “This well-deserved recognition from the Board underscores the life-changing impact that deep and sustained community engagement can have.”

Supporting Tomorrow’s Doctors

A new endowed scholarship supports pre-med students and honors family bonds.

BY JANICE LEARY

Hobart and William Smith “is where it all began” for Susan Steinberg Lieberman ’60, P’86, P’88, P’98 and her husband, the late Dr. Robert C. Lieberman ’58, P’86, P’88, P’98.

Susan and Robert met at a social event soon after arriving on campus. They hit it o , started dating and one week after Susan graduated, the couple married.

During Robert’s 50th reunion in 2008, reminiscing about the special place in their lives that HWS occupied, the Liebermans found themselves moved to support the Colleges in a lasting and meaningful way — “to give back to Hobart and William Smith for all it has given to us,” Susan says.

That conversation spurred a plan that has now become a reality: the establishment of the Lieberman Family Endowed Scholarship Fund, which will support HWS students pursuing a premedical course of study.

The endowed fund commemorates the impact HWS had on Robert, who was a pre-med student and held a long career as a colorectal surgeon. Susan recalls the mentorship of biology professors T.T. Odell and Dick Ryan, who “were so in uential in Robert’s decision to pursue being a doctor.”

In fact, Robert learned of his acceptance to New York Medical College when Odell, then chair of the Biology Department, walked to Robert’s dormitory during a snowstorm to deliver the news in person.

The gift is also a way to support an institution that has come to occupy a key place in the Lieberman family: three of Robert and Susan’s four children — Aaron Lieberman ’86, Miriam Doremus ’88 and Naomi Bush ’98 — are HWS graduates, as are Aaron’s wife, Jackie Gilbert-Lieberman ’89 and Miriam’s husband, John Doremus ’88.

“I can’t tell you how much the school means to us,” Susan says. “My husband and I loved Hobart and William Smith and always will.”

Assistant Vice President for Development Kelly Young P’16 says the Liebermans’ story “epitomizes the lifelong impact that HWS has on our graduates, both in their education and in the relationships they forge here. We are grateful and proud that they have chosen to give back and make those experiences possible for future generations.”

While Robert attended medical school, Susan continued her studies at HWS, earning a B.A. in psychology. After medical school, Robert began an internship at Albany Medical Center, and Susan worked as a teacher until Aaron was born. For 40 years, they remained in Albany, where Robert established a private practice and eventually became president of the medical group that oversaw the practice. After Robert’s retirement, the couple lived on Long Island for several years. Susan returned to Albany after Robert passed away in 2014.

To this day, she wears a touching reminder of both her husband and the Colleges; Robert had his Hobart ring fashioned into a bracelet, a gift for her 25th birthday.

“It’s so beautiful,” Susan says. “I never take it o .”

▲ The yearbook photos above picture the late Dr. Robert C. Lieberman ’58, P’86, P’88, P’98 and Susan Steinberg Lieberman ’60, P’86, P’88, P’98 as students.

Your Gift to the Annual Fund Matters

Your gift supports every aspect of the HWS experience, from academics to guaranteed internships to experiential learning.

The Annual Fund helped Shayna Riggins ’22 find her career path through multiple internships.

During the academic year, an Annual Fund stipend supported Shayna’s professional development in advertising and media internships, which prepared her well for a competitive summer internship at ViacomCBS.

The Annual Fund prepared Matt Nusom ’23 to put ideas into action.

Encouraged by his professors and supported by the Annual Fund, Matt channeled his curiosity about innovation into a podcast, “Entrepreneurial Endeavors,” which shares stories of HWS alums who have launched companies.

The Annual Fund encouraged Alex Dwyer ’23 to explore the curriculum and help other students do the same.

With support from the Annual Fund, Alex immersed herself in geoscience and environmental studies coursework, which prepared her for research and peer mentorship — as well as a prestigious 2022–23 Goldwater Scholarship.

You can help more students with a gift to the Annual Fund for Hobart and William Smith today. Contact Dulcie Meyer P’20 at (315) 781–3082 or dmeyer@hws.edu | www.hws.edu/give