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
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.
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" *
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
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).