Alumna endows music scholarship to honor piano professor

Laura Geisel Sullivan, M.D. ’74 entered medical school at a time when there were few female physicians. And while she was a serious student of biology at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, she also was a talented and dedicated student of piano. As an undergraduate, Sullivan remembers practicing the piano “every night after dinner until 10 p.m., when the night watchman would tap on my practice room door and remind me it was time to go.”

Laura Geisel Sullivan ’74 and Elaine Dahl St. Vincent visit with a student
at the 2008 Alumnae Achievement Awards banquet honoring Sullivan.

Balancing the desire to pursue a career in medicine with her passion for piano was not always easy, but Sullivan credits her R-MWC piano professor, Elaine Dahl St. Vincent, with providing constant support and encouragement. In gratitude to her former teacher, Sullivan recently established The Elaine Dahl St. Vincent Endowed Music Scholarship Fund to benefit Randolph College students of piano. In creating the scholarship, Sullivan hopes to assist students who are committed students of piano but for whom a Randolph education is financially out of reach.

St. Vincent served on the R-MWC faculty from 1947-1980 and chaired the Department of Music from 1957-1979. In 1971, the College awarded her the prestigious Gillie Larew Award for Distinguished Teaching. While she taught hundreds of talented students during her tenure, she recalls Sullivan vividly: “Although Laura was not a music major, she was talented and diligent in such a superior way that the music department consented to permit her to play a senior recital. . . Laura was receptive to teaching and, therefore, she was a joy to have as a student.”

The close connections Sullivan enjoyed as a student at R-MWC have stayed with her long after graduation. Sullivan, who earned the College’s Alumnae Achievement Award in 2008 for her leadership in surgical pathology and hematopathology, has long been a supporter of the College, and her alma mater has played a large role in her extended family as well. Her daughter, Kathryn Sullivan Underwood ’09, majored in art history at the College, and her other daughter, Best Sullivan ’14, is currently enrolled in Randolph’s MAT program. Her niece, Laura Word Taylor ’13, recently graduated with a chemistry degree.

Sullivan is thankful to faculty members like St. Vincent for playing such a big role in her life. “Working one-on-one with Elaine all those years, I really got to know her, and I have enjoyed staying in touch with her ever since.”

Happily, Sullivan also has stayed in touch with the piano, still balancing the demands of a full time medical practice while finding time to practice piano most days. Recently she performed in her hospital’s annual “Physicians in Concert” series. “I played Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue,” she says, adding, “It took a lot of work to get it right, but I think Elaine would have been pleased!”

Students get opportunity to thank scholarship donors

Next week, students have a special opportunity to express gratitude to people who have helped them receive a Randolph College education.

The College will hold a Scholarship Thank-a-thon from 7:30 to 10 p.m. on Tuesday in the Student Center. Students just need to bring their own pens and they will be given paper and an envelope.

Students only need to write a few paragraphs to express appreciation for the gifts that help make their education possible, said Terry Bodine, donor relations coordinator. The Thank-a-thon is a good opportunity to enjoy snacks, socialize with other students, and introduce themselves to their scholarship donors.

Gifts to the College and its scholarship funds are crucial and help more students afford a quality liberal arts education. “Without these generous donations, Randolph could not continue to provide the grants and scholarships that make higher education possible for so many of our students,” Bodine said.

Students who receive scholarships from a specific donor or endowed fund will be given information to write a letter to their specific donors, while students with general scholarships will write letters to annual fund donors. Students who cannot attend the Thank-a-thon will be able to submit a letter online.

News Coverage: Mary Virginia Whiteside's $2.68 Million Gift

On December 9, 2009, Randolph College announced the receipt of a generous bequest from Mary Virginia Whiteside, class of 1944. The gift of $2.68 million will be used to establish an endowed scholarship fund for deserving students.

The story generated interest in the local news media. Here's a roundup of some of the coverage.

WSET-TV - December 9, 2009
Alumna Gives $2.7 Million to Randolph College


WDBJ-TV - December 9, 2009
VIDEO - Alumnae gives large gift to Randolph College

News & Advance - December 9, 2009
Randolph College will use $2.68 donation to fund scholarships

Randolph Receives $2.68 Million Gift

A $2.68 million gift announced Dec. 8 by Randolph College will create a scholarship fund named for Mary Virginia Whiteside `44.

Whiteside, who passed away in 2007 at age 84, worked with the college shortly before her death to create a bequest that would make a difference to students who might not be able to afford college. The scholarship fund will give preference to deserving women based on their academic record, personal qualities, and financial need.

Whiteside, a resident of Redlands, CA, graduated from the college, then named Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, as a Latin major. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and went on to teach Latin to high school and college students at All Saints Episcopal College in Vicksburg, Miss.

“This is an extremely generous gift at a crucial time,” said John E. Klein, president of the college. “Gifts like these are always valued, but especially so in a time of an uncertain economy. This gift will allow Randolph College to continue to help students and families afford a quality education. Through careful planning, Ms. Whiteside was able to create a legacy here that will have an impact on students far into the future, and we are very grateful to her.”

Read the Gift Announcement > > >

$1.4 Million Gift Will Provide Student Scholarships

A $1.4 million bequest dedicated to student scholarships from the estate of Margaret Pertzoff will help make a Randolph College education more affordable to future students. For 31 years, Pertzoff was a well-known, honored, and beloved professor at the college, teaching European and Russian history. The Margaret H. Pertzoff Endowed Scholarship Fund will enhance Randolph College's efforts to provide its students with financial assistance.

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