February 23, 2010
Dear fellow Alumni, Parents and Friends,
The Dr. J. Mark Erickson Geology University Fellows Endowment
Did you work on a senior thesis, or an independent research project? Did you wish you had? Are you interested in providing that opportunity to future St. Lawrence University students?
SLU Geology students have Mark Erickson as one of the people to thank for providing students the opportunity to conduct independent research and a senior thesis. Mark’s personal commitment and contribution to the University, the Department and its students over the last 39 years has distinguished him as an extraordinary professional in the field of geology at SLU. He has been a mentor, friend, and colleague to numerous geology students and has helped shape us into the professionals and individuals that we have become. In light of his eventual retirement, we would like to honor Mark with the Dr. J. Mark Erickson Geology University Fellows Endowment.
This geology fellowship is in honor of Mark whose dedication to geology at St. Lawrence University has touched many. The fellowship is a way that geology alumni and friends can thank him for the knowledge, wisdom, and empowerment he has so unselfishly given to all of us. The creation of the Dr. J. Mark Erickson Geology University Fellows Endowment is intended to further the legacy of Dr. Erickson long after his retirement, by providing future SLU geology students with the means to pursue independent research in the field of geology. As Mark has always encouraged students to advance themselves through their research, it was felt that a geology fellowship would help facilitate future collaborative research between students and department faculty.
Geology students awarded the fellowship will receive a stipend and support for summer housing and research related expenses. This stipend will provide the financial assistance for geology students to continue summer research and mentoring with the department faculty.
To honor Mark in this way and continue the legacy that he created, we ask for your financial support in establishing The Dr. J. Mark Erickson Geology University Fellows Endowment. We have a starting goal of $125,000 and an ultimate goal of $500,000 over the next 5 years. We already have pledges totaling almost $31,000. The more money we are able to raise for this fellowship, the more assistance students will receive. We need your help to ensure that future students will be able to benefit from independent research with a faculty member, like many of us experienced thanks to Mark. The goal may appear lofty, but if each alum were to donate $100/yr it would take less than two years to reach our starting goal. A gift of any size will help when it is combined with other fellow geology alumni and friends. Mark has touched so many people that it is fitting that we come together to honor him.
Each year the University will let Mark know who has donated to the fellowship fund and the alumni will be kept informed of the recipients and their research projects through the Geology Department Newsletter and the Geology Alumni Website.
All gifts are tax deductible. The University encourages you to donate to The Dr. J. Mark Erickson Geology University Fellows Endowment above and beyond your support to the St. Lawrence Fund and reminds us that participation in the annual fund helps the University in many ways. Donations can be made in several ways. Please see below.
Please consider contributing to this fund. It is incumbent on us to honor Mark and provide for future opportunities to support the profession of geology at St. Lawrence.
Sincerely,
St. Lawrence University Geology Alumni Council, Erickson Fellowship Committee
Ned Baker ‘86
Duane Eppler ‘71
Trisha Smrecak ‘06
Jeff Chiarenzelli ‘81
Will Hackett ‘07
Rick Standish ‘71
Dean Eppler ‘74
Sarah McElfresh ‘98
Chris Stevens ‘04
Ways to make a donation to The Dr. J. Mark Erickson Geology University Fellows Endowment
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Send a check to St. Lawrence University, Alumni and Parent Programs, 23 Romoda Drive, Canton, NY 13617 with a letter indicating your gift is for the Dr. J. Mark Erickson Geology University Fellows Endowment.
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Online at: http://www.stlawu.edu/onlinegift In the box where you can make the gift in honor of someone to say that the gift is for the "The Dr. J. Mark Erickson Geology University Fellows Endowment" *
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Call 1-888-SLU-GIFT (1-888-758-4438) and specify that your Gift is for The Dr. J. Mark Erickson Geology University Fellows Endowment
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To donate stock or for another type of donation contact Steven Jo in Office of Major Gifts at 315-229-5519 or sjo@stlawu.edu.
Your donation to The Dr. J. Mark Erickson Geology University Fellows Endowment is tax deductible. As a donation to an endowed fund, it does not count toward a donation to the SLU general fund in dollar amount or number of alumni donating. If you wish to be counted in the "Alumni giving rate" for the given year you will need to make a separate donation to the general fund.
After your donation has been processed by the university, you will receive a receipt in the mail indicating where your donation went. If there are any problems, contact Steven Jo (315-229-5519 or sjo@stlawu.edu) and he will make sure the money gets transferred to the right account.
*Updated on February 24th
You can now select "Dr. J. Mark Erickson Geology University Fellows Endowment"under Designations. This will only be on the "giving form" temporarily, so if you wish to make a donation online and the check box has been removed, follow the instructions we provided in the last email to make a gift. You can always follow your gift up with an email to Steven Jo (sjo@stlawu.edu) in Major Gifts or Kimberly Hissong (khissong@stlawu.edu) Director of Alumni and Parent Programs and let them know you have made a donation to this fund if you are concerned about the money being put in the correct account.
I was also asked to remind everyone that University hopes your donation to the Dr. J. Mark Erickson Geology University Fellows Endowment is in addition to any donation you might make to the SLU annual fund. A donation to an endowed fund is not included in participation numbers for annual giving and participation numbers of donations by alumni to the annual fund is often used by foundations and granting agencies in determining awards. The size of the donation to the general fund does not matter, it is the number of individuals. Geology has benefited recently from some of these granting agencies with the purchase of an SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), XRD (X-ray Diffraction) and part of the money toward an XRF (X-ray fluorescence).