A Special Gift from Terry Galanis, Sr., ’40

I am pleased to announce that, thanks to a generous gift of $1,000,000 by Terry Galanis, Sr., ’40, our University will award a one-time, supplemental payment to all full-time and part-time, regular, non-bargaining-unit employees hired before July 1, 2018.

The one-time compensation supplement will be in the amount of $800 for employees earning less than $50,000 and $500 for employees earning $50,000 or more. The supplement will be paid prior to April 15. It represents a small, but meaningful step to better convey our appreciation to our staff and faculty for all they do for our University.

We are committed to taking better care of our people and we owe Terry Galanis, Sr., our profound gratitude for amplifying our near-term means to do so.

I cannot stress how outside of ordinary—indeed, extraordinary—it is for a donor to commit a significant portion of a major philanthropic investment toward improving compensation, on a broad basis, for employees at a university such as ours. That makes the gift by Terry, Sr., even more special for all of us.

Terry, Sr., is advancing our University in other important ways as well through his philanthropic investment. At his request, a portion of his gift will go to our College of Business, and another allocation will go to our athletics programs, notably for improving our practice facilities on Jericho Hill.

And finally, another $100,000 of his gift will be used to match gifts to the Alfred Fund during our University’s second annual Day of Giving on Thursday, April 4. The Alfred Fund supports “areas of greatest need” for our University, chief of which is providing scholarship support for our students.

Terry Galanis, Sr., and Neal Miller, a new member of our Board of Trustees, have collectively committed $200,000 to matching, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, any new gifts made to the Alfred Fund on our Day of Giving as well as any new or incremental Saxon Circle commitments made between now and the end of our Day of Giving. We now have 508 founding members of the Saxon Circle, including 47 faculty/staff and 48 who have joined as students.

Here’s how you can help:

• Make an investment on Thursday, April 4, by texting ALFRED to 71777 or online at https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/ALFRED.
• Help spread the word by using #ColortheDayPurple and sharing Alfred University social media posts on your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. Text or email your friends and let them know about our second annual Day of Giving on Thursday, April 4.

This most recent gift from Terry Galanis, Sr., is one in a long history of generosity from the Galanis family to Alfred University.  For many years, the family sponsored the Galanis Business Award for our College of Business that introduced the Alfred University name to hundreds of Western New York businesspeople. They provided the support to establish the junior varsity football coaching position, assuring more student-athletes an opportunity to play. In addition, their philanthropic investment refurbished the gymnasium at our McLane Center, creating the Galanis Family Arena. It is a top-notch facility for our own teams, and one that has allowed us to also host numerous high school athletic events and sectional competitions, thereby introducing Alfred University to scores of area students.

Even before Terry, Sr., made his latest gift to the University, our Board of Trustees had voted to bestow honorary degrees on Terry S. Galanis, Sr., who will be awarded a Doctor of Science degree, and on Terry S. Galanis, Jr., who will be awarded a Doctor of Commerce degree later this spring. Terry S. Galanis, Jr., has been a member of our University Board of Trustees since 1999 and is chair of its Advancement committee.

Please join me in thanking the Galanis family for their wonderful support over the years and Terry Galanis, Sr., for his extraordinary recent gift.

Fiat Lux!