Dean emeritus provides boost to history department

As dean emeritus of the College of Letters and Science, E. David Cronon knows that a department having access to money without strings is a rare thing.

That’s one reason he’s leaving a sizable bequest in trust with few restrictions to the Department of History, in which he taught for many years. The sole criterion is that the gift be used for “recognition and support of high academic achievement” by department faculty and students.

Cronon foresees many ways that the department can use the gift. “The Bascom professorship model is one possibility, as well as graduate fellowships and undergraduate awards of excellence. I know graduate fellowships are one current area of need,” he says.

Steve Stern, history department chair, says Cronon’s bequest will have “an enormous impact.”

“It makes it possible for us to support excellence, especially in graduate study,” Stern says. “In a single stroke, Dave has proven that it is possible to raise funds to support graduate students, and has shown how Create the Future: The Campaign From Within can make a tangible difference on campus.”

Stern says using the gift to recruit the best graduate students “will benefit undergraduates as well, as it will ensure that they (the department) have the highest quality teaching assistants.”

Establishing the trust was “something I’ve been considering for a long time, as long as I’ve been involved with the university,” says Cronon, who received his master’s degree in history in 1949 and his Ph.D. in 1953 from UW–Madison. He joined the faculty in 1962.

He encourages other faculty and staff to consider giving to the university, now and through estate planning. “They receive a lot, so they should think about returning something of value,” he says. “In my case, this is a way to pay back after I die.”

Cronon and his wife, Jean, have supported other areas, including the Elvehjem Museum of Art, the Arboretum, campus libraries and the School of Nursing, from which Jean received her undergraduate degree and graduate nursing certificate. They have been members of the Bascom Hill Society for many years and in 1991 gave their farm to the UW Foundation.

“We feel our lives were improved enormously through our association with the university. This is just the right thing for us to do,”he says.

These profiles highlight people whose lives UW–Madison has transformed. To learn about the Create the Future campaign, contact the UW Foundation, 263-4545, or see http://www.uwfoundation.wisc.edu.