Syracuse University’s iSchool Receives $7 Million Gift from Alumna’s Estate (Largest Single Gift in iSchools History)
From Syracuse University:
The School of Information Studies (iSchool) at Syracuse University learned today it is the recipient of a landmark gift of $7 million—the largest single gift in the iSchool’s history—from the estate of Estelle Wilhelm ‘38 (Arts and Sciences) and G ’39 (iSchool). A professional librarian for most of her career, Wilhelm died in 2012 in Gillette, N.J., and had no surviving relatives.
Wilhelm worked as a children’s librarian from 1939-1944 at the Endicott, N.Y., Public Library, the Philadelphia Public Library and the New York Public Library. She later worked for the military as a post librarian at the Battery General Hospital in Rome, Ga., the U.S. Navy Material Technical Library Catalog Office in New York City and the military base in Cape Lookout, N.C., where her monthly book allowance was said to be $500.
Of the gift, $1 million will be designated for the iSchool’s Tech Endowment which provides new and upgraded technology for classrooms and labs. How the remainder of the gift will be allocated is yet to be determined.
Read the Complete Announcement
Includes Comment from Dean of the iSchool and Trustee Professor Elizabeth D. Liddy
Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.