SPECIAL TRIBUTE
Mary M. Lai 1921 – 2020
REMEMBERING MARY M. LAI
A LIFE OF SERVICE TO LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY
H
er name is synonymous with Long Island University. Since 1946, her signature has appeared on more than three million paychecks, contracts, and college financial aid award letters. She has personally donated – and called upon others – to contribute more than $50 million in scholarships to help college students achieve the American dream. She worked for 74 consecutive years at LIU, her alma mater, until the day she passed away at the age of 99. She held the title as the longest serving female academic business officer in all of private higher education in the United States.
Simply put, Mary M. Lai was the heart and soul of Long Island University, and her influence will be remembered forever. Mrs. Lai’s affinity for LIU began in her childhood, growing up in Greenpoint nearby the LIU Brooklyn campus. She enrolled at LIU on a full scholarship and served as class president in her sophomore, junior and senior years, received the Dean’s Award for
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LIUMAGAZINE | Fall 2020
“Outstanding Junior,” and was named the “Outstanding Woman” in her senior year before graduating in 1942 with a degree in accounting. She even met her husband, William “Buck” Lai, at the University, where he was a stellar athlete and would go on to serve as a coach and administrator. Mrs. Lai’s passion and appreciation for the University became clear when in 1946 she agreed to become the business officer at LIU after learning of the University's fiscal struggles during World War II. “When I learned more about LIU’s dire situation and that the University had been without a business officer for a year, I knew the University needed help desperately,” Lai said. “I thought helping the University could be my way of repaying the full scholarship I had when I was a student.” At the age of 24, Mrs. Lai was officially hired as the University’s first bursar, equivalent in today’s terms to the chief financial officer and comptroller. During her initial several months at LIU, where she worked diligently day and night
to implement a new finance system, something unexpected happened. Thousands of men were returning from the war and clamoring to attend local universities on the new GI Bill of Rights, which would finance their college educations. “That was some year,” Lai exclaimed. “There were many more challenges than I had anticipated. The enrollment grew from 800 to 5,000 students. Fifty percent of our enrollment were returning veterans. From a staff of three, we grew to 17. Everything was manual in those days.” Despite agreeing to a one-year appointment, Mrs. Lai never left. Her extraordinary tenure would span more than seven decades serving as chief financial officer and treasurer, and most recently as treasurer emerita and special advisor. She was one of the first female chief financial officers in higher education, and she was the first female president of the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Throughout her career, Mrs. Lai continued to be a groundbreaking
