A Historic Achievement with Lasting Impact
As of December 31, 2022, Emerge Transformed: The Campaign for Lawrenceville had raised $450.4 million, exceeding its $425 million goal with six months remaining until the Campaign closes on June 30, 2023. We are already seeing the impact on student programs, faculty support, and student scholarships, as we continue to emphasize additional needs for scholarship aid, faculty compensation, and The Lawrenceville Fund. In this issue, we provide an update on Campaign progress and remaining needs, hear from Campaign Co-chair Alex Buckley Voris ’96, and talk about ways you can still make a meaningful difference in the final months of the Campaign.
IN CONVERSATION: CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR
ALEXANDRA BUCKLEY VORIS ’96
Alex Buckley Voris ’96 is one of four co-chairs of the Emerge Transformed campaign and chairs the Admission & Financial Aid Committee of the Board of Trustees. She has served as a Lawrenceville trustee since 2012 and is also a current member of the Academic & Faculty Affairs, Trustees, and Executive committees. Here she shares her insights on Lawrenceville and the Campaign.
Its core tenets are bold and far-reaching, and they’re also incredibly simple, having been drawn from the values that always have defined what we stand for and who we are. Like Lawrenceville itself, Emerge Transformed calls on all of us to come together and on each of us to play a role.
The revised mission statement that underlies the strategic plan is, to me, a nearly perfect encapsulation of what Emerge Transformed is all about:
Through House and Harkness, Lawrenceville challenges a diverse community of promising young people to lead lives of learning, integrity, and high purpose. Our mission is to inspire the best in each to seek the best for all.
ET: This is the most ambitious Campaign in Lawrenceville history, and the largest undertaken to date by an independent school. Why so ambitious, and why now?
ABV: I’m right back to the mission statement, but the idea of inspiring the best in each to seek the best for all is so resonant with respect to this question. This Campaign represents the largest collective act undertaken by the Lawrenceville community. It honors our mission, fortifies our vision, and it breaks new ground. It’s a campaign that’s about the next generation of leaders and investments in growth, and its impact both within the gates of Lawrenceville and beyond them will be profound.
ET: How do the Emerge Transformed campaign priorities support the main tenets of the strategic plan adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2016?
ABV: It’s been my experience that strategic plans often exist mostly on paper, but Lawrenceville 20/20 is different. It’s a cleareyed assessment of our strengths and vulnerabilities, both grounded in reality and soaring in its ambition. Its wellspring is Lawrenceville’s tradition and history of pioneering ideas, reinforced and translated for the 21st century, and its priorities form the basis of the Campaign’s four pillars.*
If Campaigns can have a mindset, then Emerge Transformed is both profoundly optimistic and unreservedly pragmatic.
The steadfast belief in community and its unique expression at Lawrenceville, created and reinforced through House and Harkness, is at the core of our identity as an institution. Rooted in our history and central to our vision for the future, this fundamental, generation-spanning tenet of the Lawrenceville experience is vital not just to our identity today but also to our ability to sustain what sets us apart, and it runs through every Campaign priority. Enter as many; emerge as one.
(*The four pillars of the Emerge Transformed campaign: Scholarship Aid, Faculty & Academic Support, Our Campus, Financial Sustainability)
The sense of urgency is real. Sustaining excellence takes courage, creativity, and vision, and it takes resources to bring to life. Last spring, I spent an hour in the Gruss Center for Art and Design, a 15,000-square-foot creative design center and makerspace that’s at the intersection of science, technology, mathematics, engineering, and art, and at the center of a revolution in experiential learning at Lawrenceville. As an entrepreneur and company founder, I’ve spent a fair amount of time thinking about non-linear problem solving, innovation, and how to build a plan for scalable growth. And I was not prepared for these kids! But even beyond their technical expertise, which was remarkable, it was their
commitment, passion, imagination, and sense of purpose that stopped me in my tracks. Together, they’d identified real-life problems and had set about working to solve them; they’d used their hands, hearts, and heads to pursue solutions that would have an impact beyond themselves.
Less electrifying, although equally essential, the emphasis on endowment growth and commitment to financial sustainability can’t be overstated, and I’m proud of our steadfast focus on this critical priority. For some time, Lawrenceville’s endowment has lagged behind that of our peer schools, and while initially that may not produce a discernable result, it creates cracks in the foundation that threaten the integrity of the structure over time. For Lawrenceville, those cracks were most visible in load-bearing pillars like tuition growth, which have a very real impact on our ability to recruit and compete successfully for the most outstanding kids. A larger endowment will allow us not just to mitigate increases in tuition, but also to direct essential resources toward the imperatives that matter most: prioritizing the School’s ability to attract and retain a world-class faculty, becoming the firstchoice school for the most promising kids, supporting a physical plant that’s second to none, and leading the charge when it comes to innovation in teaching and learning. By ensuring that our foundation is secure, we’re able not only to meet the challenge of today, but also to safeguard and strengthen Lawrenceville for the future, ensuring that generations of students will continue to be transformed by an education that encourages them to seek, make mistakes, tangle with the world around them, and play an active role in making it a better place.
ET: As a Campaign Co-chair, you’ve made a significant personal commitment to Scholarship Aid. What makes this priority compelling for you?
ABV: Lawrenceville’s community is its greatest asset—certainly the most important ingredient when it comes to the School’s long-term success and viability— and building a first-rate community means enrolling more great kids, whether their need for scholarship aid is large or relatively small. But the reality is that for the vast majority of families, Lawrenceville is out of reach.
At the same time, and particularly over the last few years, we’ve had significant increases in applications to Lawrenceville— and what’s clear in that growth is that a far larger percentage of qualified candidates meet the requirements for scholarship aid. This is a great thing, because it means that the applicant pool is expanding and improving; it also means time is of the essence, and we’ve got to meet this challenge now.
Diversity in its many forms is a hallmark of a great institution—one that’s evolving, dynamic, and able to meet the shifting needs of a changing population. In order to deliver on our mission, we’ve got to ensure that we’re able to admit and educate students based on their strengths and potential and not on their ability to pay. And while there are a significant number of families who are eligible for full or nearly full scholarships, there are an equal number in the middle who qualify for partial aid. Overall, there is a very wide range of incomes when it comes to families who need support. By working to ensure that the core dollars of our financial aid budget are guaranteed by the endowment, we’re solidifying our commitment to recruiting and enrolling the most promising young people we can find, to changing kids’ lives, and to improving the Lawrenceville experience for all students.
One thing I’ve learned over the course of this Campaign is that most schools struggle to raise dollars to support scholarship aid. To me, those dollars
should be the easiest to raise. If we could be the school that changes this equation, and maybe even serve as an example to others of what’s possible, then I believe we will have affirmed Lawrenceville’s leadership both as an institution and as a set of values, and we will have created a legacy that endures.
“By ensuring that our foundation is secure, we’re able not only to meet the challenge of today, but also to safeguard and strengthen Lawrenceville for the future, ensuring that generations of students will continue to be transformed by an education that encourages them to seek, make mistakes, tangle with the world around them, and play an active role in making it a better place.”
ET: What are your aspirations for Lawrenceville? What are you most excited to see students benefit from?
ABV: Whenever I drive through the gates of Lawrenceville—and lately, I’ve been fortunate to do that quite a bit—I feel for a moment just like I did as a student. The heartbeat of possibility and promise never wavers, and at the same time, it always feels like coming home.
That feeling of homecoming is fueled in part by the fact that despite having graduated 25 years ago, so many of the faculty who shaped my experience at Lawrenceville, and went on to shape my life, remain part of the fabric of the School—a legacy that speaks so powerfully to the unique and enduring nature of this place.
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Just last spring, I stood in the rotunda of the Hutchins Galleries and listened as Brian Daniell, who’d struggled mightily to teach me to draw, discussed what it meant for his students to have access to this remarkable space, filled with both permanent and ever-changing collections that include the work of students and alumni alongside artists who have influenced the world. I popped into Regan Kerney’s Economics class, which I took in 1996, and found that while I still can’t read a graph, his classroom hadn’t changed in that it remained exactly where I want to be. Holly Becker, Sam Washington, Kris Schulte, Emilie Kosoff and so many, many others who invested wholeheartedly in my classmates and me continue to make educating generations of Lawrentians their life’s work.
My deepest wish for students is that each of them finds in Lawrenceville a home that will stretch, support, challenge and inspire them, that they’ll be surrounded by great kids whose life-experiences are different from their own and by faculty whose genius exists equally in their subject matter and in their ability
to unlock students’ potential. I hope they’ll experience a moment like the one I remember in Second Form, when I walked into Max Maxwell’s English class, bombed a quiz, learned that I had little to no understanding of what it meant to dig into text or write persuasively, then realized it was all I wanted to do. I hope they’ll encounter teachers like Joel Greenberg, Bill Tredway, Champ Atlee, and Leita Hamill—all of whom managed both to set great expectations for what students could be while also meeting them in the inevitably messy present. That’s so much of the beauty of this place, then and now— teachers who see kids not just for who they are, but for who they could be and are not yet, and who are determined to make sure their students see it, too.
Following Lawrenceville, Alex graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, went on to NYU, and spent a number of years in the nonprofit space. She is co-founder of Bitsy’s (bitsys.com), a food and beverage company with a mission to make healthy, high-quality fare accessible and affordable. “Our belief is that it’s possible to improve
the well-being of families everywhere by creating healthy, delicious, budget and kidfriendly options,” she says. The company recently partnered with Walmart to grow and expand its reach.
A second-generation Lawrentian—her father, Walter W. Buckley, Jr. ’56, attended as a PG—Alex credits him with introducing her to the idea of boarding school. Her younger brother, Bobby ’99, followed her, and subsequently married Milano Graves Buckley ’98. The connection continues with niece Carter Ashforth ‘09.
“In a lot of ways, Lawrenceville literally helped to form our family,” says Alex. “Still, the fact is that for most of us, the concept of boarding school is relatively foreign. Add to that the staggering cost of tuition, and for all but the tiniest fraction of the population, it’s an experience that’s likely to feel wholly out of bounds. This is one reason why Emerge Transformed matters as much as it does—we need the resources to go out and tell Lawrenceville’s new story, to come together and bring our School’s bold future to life.”
THE FOLLOWING ENDOWED FUNDS WERE ESTABLISHED BETWEEN JUNE 1 AND DECEMBER 31, 2022.
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
• Du Family Fund
• Holmsten Family Scholarship Fund
• Joukowsky Family Fund
• Kumar Family Scholarship Fund
• Meadow Family Scholarship Fund
• Meng Family Scholarship Fund
• Rodrigues Family Fund
• Amy Zhou ‘04 Scholarship Fund
The Emerge Transformed campaign continues to build momentum as it enters its final months.
Scan here to see all the latest fundraising results.
The Lawrenceville Fund (TLF) is on track to be the second largest gift to Emerge Transformed: The Campaign for Lawrenceville. Incorporating The Parents Fund (TLPF), TLF is also one of the most critical fundraising priorities of this Campaign, with the greatest potential for immediate impact on every aspect of School life, and the easiest way for every Lawrentian to participate in this historic philanthropic effort.
Your gift to The Lawrenceville Fund is a gift to the Campaign, and can be designated to any of the TLF initiatives listed on our giving form at giving. lawrenceville.org. With an anticipated contribution of $42 million to the Campaign total, supporting TLF allows you to be part of a significant collective impact. By making your gift of any size today, you will be joining the largest campaign ever undertaken by an independent school — and making an important statement about the value of a Lawrenceville education. Your support, this year and every year, is critical to our success.
To learn more, contact Skylar Beaver, Assistant Director of Advancement, Director of The Lawrenceville Fund and Alumni and Family Engagement, at (609) 895-2185 or sbeaver@lawrenceville.org.
OVER $40 MILLION RAISED THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2022
AS YOU CONSIDER YOUR SUPPORT OF THE LAWRENCEVILLE FUND OR THE PARENTS FUND, we encourage you to join the 708 alumni and parent donors whose gifts earned them membership in the Red & Black Leadership Society last year. With six membership giving levels ranging from $2,500 to $100,000-plus, and three more just for the youngest 15 alumni classes, ranging from $250 to $2,500-plus depending on class year, the Red & Black Leadership Society offers a widely accessible opportunity to support personal priorities at a leadership level.
TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT MAUREEN EHRET H’72 P’06 ’12, DIRECTOR OF THE RED & BLACK LEADERSHIP SOCIETY, AT (609) 895-2192 OR MEHRET@LAWRENCEVILLE.ORG.
TLF AND THE CAMPAIGN
THE LAWRENCEVILLE FUND (IN THE EMERGE TRANSFORMED CAMPAIGN)
RED & BLACK LEADERSHIP SOCIETY
CAMPAIGN PROGRESS: A STORY OF SUCCESS WITH AN ASTERISK
Emerge Transformed: The Campaign for Lawrenceville is the most ambitious fundraising campaign in our School’s 212year history and the largest campaign undertaken to date by an independent school. The Campaign was introduced to the Lawrenceville community in May 2021 and will close on June 30, 2023. As of December 31, 2022, the Campaign had raised just over $450 million with six months remaining in the fundraising cycle. Outstanding support from alumni and parents has taken us $25 million beyond our overall goal, but several critical Campaign priorities remain underfunded or in need of current funding.
On December 31, Scholarship Aid stood at $104.5 million, exceeding its $100 million goal but dependent on future funding from $63 million in deferred gifts. Faculty and Academic Support was at $65 million against a goal of $85 million. We know Lawrentians and their families care deeply about both priorities, and we are committed to reaching out to community members who may have been waiting to make a significant gift where the need is greatest, and to new parents, whose children will benefit immediately from support of faculty and academic programs and the advantages of a student body that resembles our global society. This final Campaign year is also a great time to add to an existing fund or previous gift to increase your impact.
Below and on the facing page are some ideas for your support. Named endowed funds begin at $100,000; funds of $250,000 or more carry donor preferences, such as preferred geography for a scholarship recipient. All endowed funds are payable over five years, and the total gift amount will count toward the Campaign total. Gifts of any amount can be designated to a priority of your choice.
FACULTY AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT: GIFT OPPORTUNITIES
L PROGRAM IMPACT FUND
Program Impact Funds provide broadbased support for academic and cocurricular programs and might include the recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty/coaches; curriculum development in a specific discipline; funding for a favorite sport, club, or student publication; and more.
Starting at $100,000
L HEAD OF SCHOOL’S AND DEANS’ DISCRETIONARY FUNDS
Starting at $100,000
L RESEARCH INSTITUTES
Current use funding for the Heely Scholars in Archival and Historical Research, Leopold Scholars in Ecology and Ethics, Merrill Scholars in Literary Research and Creative Writing, or Rising Scholars. $165,000 annually
L PROGRAM DIRECTORS
Naming privilege for the Directors of Teaching and Learning, Experiential Education, Big Red Farm, Gruss Center for Art and Design (GCAD), and Sustainability.
$2 million each
L DEANS
Naming privilege for the Dean of Academics, Dean of Students, and Dean of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement.
$2.5 million each
“A gift to Lawrenceville is a gift to your children as well as to future generations, and a wonderful family legacy. Designating my gift to athletics and scholarship aid speaks to important parts of the education my children received— teamwork, sportsmanship, and cultural enrichment. One of the greatest gifts you can give your children—other than love, good values, and your time—is the gift of education. I’m proud to be able to support the School.”
— Grant Pothast P’14 ’16 ’17
SCHOLARSHIP AID: GIFT OPPORTUNITIES
L SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The most generous category of scholarship support, a Scholarship Program enables the donor to provide for the full needs of multiple students, including tuition, books, travel, supplies, and weekly stipends. This is a named program with donor preferences.
Starting at $3 million
L FULL SCHOLARSHIP
Providing one student each year with full tuition support. Full Scholarships often follow the same student through their time at Lawrenceville. Named, with donor preferences.
Starting at $1.5 million
L HALF SCHOLARSHIP
Providing half support for one student each year. Named, with donor preferences.
Starting at $750,000
L PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Providing partial support for one or more students. Named, with donor preferences.
Starting at $250,000
L NAMED SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Starting at $100,000
L HARKNESS TRAVEL FUND
A named fund providing need-based assistance for student trips, both domestic and international.
Starting at $100,000
L OPPORTUNITY FUND
A named fund providing need-based assistance for ancillary costs, to ensure students can take full advantage of the Lawrenceville experience.
Starting at $100,000
L ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP
A one-time, current-use full scholarship. Donors may make a multi-year commitment to a single student.
$70,000
L THE LAWRENCEVILLE FUND/ THE PARENTS FUND
Gifts of any amount to The Lawrenceville Fund or The Parents Fund can be designated to Scholarship Aid. Multi-year commitments are encouraged.
“Lawrenceville is influencing my future by giving me the opportunity to attend one of the best schools in the country. I’ve started to see the world differently, and I’ve become a better person. My future would be totally different—Lawrenceville is opening new doors for me, and I’m really thankful.”
— Fourth Form scholarship recipient
For more information on these and other gift opportunities, please contact Greg Carter, Assistant Director of Advancement, Director of Principal and Leadership Giving, at (609) 895-2114 or gcarter@ lawrenceville.org; or Skylar Beaver, Assistant Director of Advancement, Director of The Lawrenceville Fund and Alumni and Family Engagement, at (609) 895-2185 or sbeaver@lawrenceville.org.
TRANSFORMING THE CAMPUS CORE
Frederick Law Olmsted designed the Circle in the 1880s as a medium for building connections among students and between students and faculty. The campus ended with the Circle until Pop Hall led the development of “Lower Campus” in the 1920s, now an array of academic and residential buildings surrounding the Bowl. One hundred years later, the master plan for Lawrenceville’s campus seeks to extend Olmsted’s vision beyond the boundaries of Woods Memorial Hall and Upper House.
F Surrounded by the Lower School Houses, KAC, the Fathers Building, GCAD, and Mackenzie Administration Building, the Bowl sits at the heart of campus. It is arguably the most highly-trafficked spot at Lawrenceville — by students, faculty and staff, and cars.
At the same time Head of School Steve Murray introduced a new strategic plan in 2016, Lawrenceville 20/20, the Board of Trustees commissioned a master plan for re-thinking the physical campus. Just as Lawrenceville 20/20 proposed projects and initiatives to support a balanced emphasis on head, heart, and hands, the master plan focused on ways to apply this philosophy to the campus landscape. The final piece in Lawrenceville’s master plan calls for transforming the roadway around the Bowl into a pedestrian core.
We’ve seen what happens when we reinvent a roadway and remove the cars. When the road in front of the Crescent Houses became Corrente Walk, the girls’ Houses suddenly felt connected in a new way, the facing lawn challenged the Circle for Frisbee dominance, and the Crescent acquired a distinctive life of its own.
G Removing cars from the Bowl will have the same transformative impact as removing cars from the Crescent, with the advantage of creating a central campus green that supports the balance of head, heart, and hands and increases opportunities for community connections. Imagine walking to class unimpeded by the near-constant flow of cars, with the pace slowed enough to make plans with a friend or continue a conversation with a faculty member.
A project of this magnitude will inspire a profound and positive change in the daily rhythm of the School. Daily traffic will be rerouted to a “ring road” that will move vehicles to the perimeter of campus from a new main entrance on Route 206/Main Street, with access points to allow for student pick-up and drop-off.
The site offers significant environmental opportunities as well. Installation of a permeable surface will provide critical storm water drainage for the central campus, and new plantings will enhance the campus ecology.
L Lawrenceville is seeking partners to take a leadership role in transforming the Bowl into a carless campus core.
ENGAGE WITH US!
If you are interested in learning more, please contact Greg Carter, Assistant Director of Advancement and Director of Principal and Leadership Giving, at (609) 895-2114 or gcarter@lawrenceville.org.
Emerge Transformed isn’t only about supporting Lawrenceville financially. Your involvement as an active alumnus/a, parent, and volunteer also makes an important contribution to this Campaign and will be crucial to our success. We’ve expanded our alumni and parent Affinity Groups to include more careers and demographics, strengthened our regional alumni chapter presence, and developed a robust online program to support Class Agents and Parents Fund volunteers. It’s easier than ever to join your fellow Lawrentians and other parents in supporting the School. Here are just a few ways you can participate and help Lawrenceville to Emerge Transformed
STAY IN TOUCH! Have you moved? Changed jobs? Graduated from college? Share your contact information with us at www.lawrenceville.org/alumni. This is the best way to make sure you receive news from campus and invitations to events.
VOLUNTEER! There are many ways to stay connected to Lawrenceville. Your Reunion Committee, our wide range of Affinity Groups, and your local Lawrenceville alumni chapter would love to welcome you. Alumni and parents can also volunteer to serve as advocates for The Lawrenceville Fund and The Parents Fund, by encouraging others to join them in support.
FOLLOW US! We’re on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Go to giving.lawrenceville.org and click on “Engage With Us” for the links. And be sure to share our posts with your Lawrenceville friends and classmates! Our social channels can also be a great way to get the word out about your small business or side gig.
FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH LAWRENCEVILLE AND THE CAMPAIGN, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.LAWRENCEVILLE.ORG/ALUMNI. GO BIG RED!
FACULTY VOICES: UNDERSTANDING HARKNESS
Lawrenceville introduced the Harkness system in 1936, when then Head Master Allan Vanderhoef Heely accepted a $5 million gift from Edward S. Harkness to implement an innovative “conference method” of instruction, with 12 students and a teacher at an oval table. Lawrenceville was instantly transformed by Heely’s vision and Harkness’s largesse. But the Harkness philosophy is about more than oval tables. We asked Pier Kooistra H’14 P’20, English teacher on the Robert S. and Christina Seix Dow Master-Teaching Chair in Harkness Learning, to share his wisdom and perspective as we explore this hallmark of a Lawrenceville education.
LAWRENCEVILLE HAS BEEN distinguished by a collaborative “Harkness” approach to learning for going on 90 years. While this is classically envisioned as an oval table where every voice carries value and weight, the practice of Harkness—of dialogical inquiry—is infused into our playing fields, our arts stages and studios, our Houses, and ourselves. Harkness is at the heart of our mission—“inspiring the best in each to seek the best for all.”
Harkness demands the best of each of us; it demands active engagement with the topic and with our peers. It demands each community member’s commitment
to thorough, conscientious preparation. It requires active participation in a collective process of constructing understanding. And it depends upon students’ dedication to critical review of prior thinking, and an openness to revision.
Harkness is about setting students up to learn, think, and speak for themselves; however, learning and thinking by integrating input from beyond oneself requires practice. When we teachers pose questions, we don’t tell students what to say in response. We watch closely as students tackle problems. Then we feed back. By posing questions, watching
closely, and encouraging students to pay attention to what they think and how they think, we engineer learning experiences that empower independent, critical thought. We get students to learn, think and speak for themselves through critical input from and for others.
As a collaborative mode of study, Harkness can shift configurations. Pairs for reciprocal feedback, trios for testing new thoughts, full class discussion once thoughts have been properly formulated. Students can do a lot of growth-inducing work conferring, constructing and critiquing at a big oval table, but operating exclusively in that format is not educationally optimal. For each student to get adequate practice, breaking away from a teacher-convened table is essential.
The Oxford dictionaries define collaborate as “to work jointly to produce something.” At its roots, this word means “to labor together.” Now, for our school to be truly productive, before Lawrentians meet in class to confer, first they must come together in purpose. Before we submit a topic to group examination, each team member must scrutinize that topic solo. Vigorous independent scholarship sets the stage for effective interdependent study. Each student should arrive for class ready to share preliminary observations, questions, and conclusions. If each student prepares conscientiously, we optimize the conditions for productive classroom collaboration.
This means arriving for class prepared to share our preliminary findings and ready— in fact, eager—to receive critical feedback. Prepared to weigh in, respectively and responsibly, on other people’s first takes and rough drafts. Prepared—in fact, determined—to use our colleagues’ constructive critical input to change our minds.
DONOR PROFILE: THE WOJCIECHOWICZ FAMILY
Many Lawrenceville families proudly claim a multigenerational connection to the School, but the Wojciechowicz family stands out—not only for the depth of its engagement, but also for the commitment of the family’s Lawrentians by marriage.
Alexander “Alex” Wojciechowicz ’57 P’78 GP’06 ’10 ’12, who passed away in 2002, started the family’s relationship with the School, but it almost didn’t happen. When a $200 gap in tuition made enrollment impossible, his education was partially funded by an anonymous donor. Alex went on to graduate from Princeton and found a successful company. He later expressed his gratitude to Lawrenceville with financial support and by serving as Class Agent and on various high-level committees.
Alex’s widow, Carol H’57, subsequently took up the mantle of Class Agent and has been an active member of the class’s 50th, 55th, 60th, and 65th Reunion Committees, chairing the 55th Reunion and, most recently, hosting the class at her home during Alumni Weekend 2022.
“The aid my grandparents received doesn’t seem like a lot by today’s standards, but it changed the course for our family,” says Michael T. “Tim” Wojciechowicz ’78 P’06 ’10 ’12.
Tim has continued the family tradition of giving back to Lawrenceville—and as in his parents’ generation, his wife, Carolyn H’78, has joined in serving the School.
“I didn’t know about Lawrenceville until after I met Tim and then through some of my Princeton classmates,” says Carolyn. “I learned that it was near and dear to them and had been a strong influence on their lives.”
Tim has held prominent volunteer roles as president of the Alumni Association and Alumni Trustee, and as a member of his 35th and 40th Reunion Committees. Carolyn led the Parents Association during the Lawrenceville tenure of the couple’s three children and served as an interviewer in the Admission Office. In 2008, Tim and Carolyn established the Alexander F. Wojciechowicz ’57 Memorial Scholarship Fund and have added to it significantly during the Emerge Transformed campaign.
“A scholarship fund in my dad’s name is in keeping with our family’s history at the School and in line with his priorities as well as ours,” says Tim. “Education was important to him, and scholarship aid is so critical to bringing in students from all walks of life.”
“The life of the mind is important,” adds Carolyn, “but our kids also had the opportunity to learn from classmates of all backgrounds and perspectives. We’re grateful for the foundation they received.”
Kristyn ’06, Rebecca ’10, and Matthew ’12 have continued to benefit from their Lawrenceville education. Kristyn went on to Brown, where she double-majored in biology and economics; Rebecca also attended Brown, studying biology and art as an undergrad and earning a master’s degree in biotechnology; and Matthew majored in physics at Middlebury and mechanical engineering at Dartmouth, earning degrees from both in a joint five-year program.
“I didn’t have to live my family’s legacy but I was able to carry it forward,” says Rebecca. “My siblings and I have had conversations with Mom and Dad over the years about the importance of giving back and making the experience we had available to others. I have friends and classmates who wouldn’t have had that opportunity without scholarship aid.”
The Wojciechowicz family is unanimous in its assessment of the School and its wider influence. “Even growing up with Lawrenceville in the fabric of our family, it wasn’t until I experienced it for myself that I saw how impactful it could be,” says Rebecca. “The Lawrenceville legacy is part of our family, but it’s also a legacy to the world.”
The Lawrenceville School
P.O. Box 6125
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN EMERGE TRANSFORMED
Regardless of how you make your gift, your support at any level will contribute to the transformation that is a hallmark of the Lawrenceville experience. Here are a few ideas:
SUPPORT THE LAWRENCEVILLE FUND (TLF), including The Parents Fund, with a gift we can use today.
CREATE AN ENDOWED FUND for Scholarship Aid or Faculty and Academic Support with a gift of $100,000 or more.
MAKE A PLANNED GIFT to endow a scholarship, fund a new program, or name a deanship, and leave a lasting Lawrenceville legacy.
CONTACT US
If you’d like to learn more about ways you can participate in EMERGE TRANSFORMED, please visit our website at giving.lawrenceville.org or contact us by phone or email.
Mary Kate Barnes Assistant Head of School Director of Advancement (609) 895-2100
mbarnes@lawrenceville.org
Skylar Beaver Assistant Director of Advancement Director of The Lawrenceville Fund and Alumni and Family Engagement (609) 895-2185
sbeaver@lawrenceville.org
Greg Carter Assistant Director of Advancement Director of Principal and Leadership Giving (609) 895-2114
gcarter@lawrenceville.org
Jerry Muntz Director of Planned Giving (609) 620-6064
jmuntz@lawrenceville.org
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