Posted on Feb 21, 2006

When William Denison Williams died, he left an unexpected legacy to his alma mater: A stack of memorabilia including his 1932 Union College commencement program and $5 million.

His gift ranks among the top 10 in the college's history, but until his death his intentions were wholly unknown to the college, said Tom Gutenberger, vice president for college relations.

“That was the beautiful part about it,” Gutenberger said . “Pretty much every year he would give a gift to our annual fund, he came to some alumni events in Philadelphia. He was involved, but he was kind of in the middle . . . but he never let us know we were in his will.”

Williams graduated from Union with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. After further study at Duke and Cornell universities, Williams returned to the area as a GE engineer.

He became manager of the magnetics section and worked in the engineering laboratory until his retirement. He lived in Scotia until 1991 when he moved to Doylestown, Pa. Williams was married – his wife died before he did – but the couple had no children. He was an accomplished violinist and performed with orchestras in New York and Philadelphia.

At the time of his death, Williams had amassed an estate exceeding $20 million, much of it acquired through investments, according to a statement from the college. The bulk of the estate was divided among Union College, Piedmont College in Georgia, his wife's alma mater, and the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown.

Other than that, the college knows very little about him.

“We don't have anyone who knows him or has information about him,” Gutenberger said. “The bottom line of the whole thing is it's very rare to have a gift of this size without the person being involved to a larger extent.”

Gutenberger said unexpected estate gifts – particularly large gifts – are very rare.

“Most people do let us know if we are in their will, and if they do, we can thank them while they're alive, invite them to special events on campus, give them some recognition,” Gutenberger said. “It's very surprising.”

Most of the tidbits the college has been able to learn about Williams come from records of his contributions and a stack of papers his attorney forwarded to the college upon his death.

Among the papers are an article about the restoration of the Nott Memorial, numerous thank you notes for donations, including a 1987 note for donating a copy of Harriet Beecher Stowe's “Men of our Times,” and a 1935 letter to Williams from a former professor.

“He's held on to all of these things, so obviously Union meant a great deal to him,” Gutenberger said. “But for some reason he didn't want maybe the attention while he was alive. Because clearly he could've made a gift when he was alive.”

Gutenberger said Williams made annual contributions to Union.

A 1941 note in Williams' collection thanks him for a $56.67 check to the Department of Physics, but in later years Williams' donated $1,000 annually.

The college contacted him about once every two years to inquire about an estate gift, but Gutenberger said Williams was not interested.

“He said no, he really didn't have an interest in seeing anybody, he was happy with his relationship, so we weren't able to talk to him personally about giving,” Gutenberger said.

Gutenberger said the college does try to track wealthier alumni and contact them to encourage giving.

“A lot of it is, you can tell by the level of the gifts they make to the college,” Gutenberger. “Another is through classmates that will talk about other successful classmates who should be giving to the college, and a third is through public record when you see someone has been named president of their company or started a company.”

The college also sends out alumni surveys and maintains an alumni directory. But while Williams made regular contributions, he never sought a leadership role as an alumnus and he rebuffed efforts to meet with college representatives to discuss a larger donation.

“One of the good lessons is you really have to look long term and pay attention to everyone and treat them well,” Gutenberger said.

Williams' $5 million gift was unrestricted and will be used to endow two chairs in his honor. The academic designation for the chairs has not been decided.

His contribution increases the college's $300 million endowment. The college is also in the midst of a $200 million capital campaign which has raised $106 million in its first 1 ½ years and will continue for the next 3 ½ years.

Posted on Feb 21, 2006

Union College in Schenectady has received one of the largest gifts in its history, a $5 million bequest from a 1932 Union graduate who became a manager at General Electric Co.

The college said Monday William Denison Williams, who died Oct. 15, 2005, in Doylestown, Pa., left Union $5 million. The gift was unrestricted. Union said it will use the money to endow two chairs in Williams' name, though the academic designation has not yet been determined.

Williams received a bachelor's of science in electrical engineering from Union and later studied at Duke and Cornell. At GE, he was manager of the Magnetics Section and he worked in the engineering lab.

He retired in 1954. He was 95 when he died.

Williams left an estate of more than $20 million. He divided the bulk of the money between Union College, Piedmont College in Georgia, and the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa.

The largest gift in the college's history was the $20 million given in November 2002 by John Wold, a geologist and former U.S. Congressman from Casper, Wyo., and his wife Jane.

Posted on Feb 20, 2006

The old expression ‘one man's junk is another man's treasure' can be used to describe the services provided by eWired Auctions, LLC — but with a philanthropic twist.  This young online auction consultancy, which who advises non-profit organizations and charities on fundraising efforts, has positive revenue and is ready to expand its workforce as its next task toward economic growth.

The entrepreneurs who founded the company, Robert Kristel and Brian Selchick, met through a mutual friend three years ago.  They joined forces and became a united front when the dot com companies www.I-soldit.com and www.snappyauction.com sprung up out of the steel trap doors of the world wide web in direct competition with eBay.

Selchick occupied his time while attending Union College as an undergraduate enrolled in the MBA program by selling products on eBay.  When he began selling products for other people, Selchick realized that what he was providing could become a franchising service.

“We're a total auction management company for charities on and off eBay. There are 170 million users, over 8,000 charities registered with eBay,” Selchick said, with prior experience fundraising for charities.  “We provide unique fundraising and marketing for our clients but also for their sponsors.”
Kristel studied video production at New York University.  Before venturing into the online auction management service, he worked in the film industry for 10 years.

They completed an auction campaign for the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.  The initiative raised money and helped students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

“We enable our clients to get creative sponsorship not brick and mortar,” Kristel said.  “We help charities that might not have the money to donate, but instead might have time shares, or an old TV, or a car to sell.”

eWired Auctions does not earn profits based from a commission like many major auction homes are historically known to do.  Instead, they have seamless zero commission, as Selchick is proud to catch phrase it.  They charge a flat management fee to all clients.  They also develop customized proprietary online auction systems for companies.  The clients can track and build on their own fundraising initiatives, raising money for a known socially, ethically, and hopefully politically correct cause.

Writing press releases, searching engine submissions, marketing direct mail campaigns, hosting live events such as bidding parties are services eWire Auctions also offer.

“I feel good about coming to work every day,” Kristel said, wearing a white Oxford shirt.  “It's kind of like Robin Hood without stealing.”

With warehousing space located in Albany, Scotia, and East Greenbush, they are expanding at an impressive rate.  “Globalization is destroying borders,” Selchick said.  “There is great marketing potential.  In New York alone there are over 100,000 charities.”

eWired Auctions offer tangible and intangible items for bid such as life size Star Wars Yoda Master Jedi Knight, lunch with Warren Buffet for $250,000, an electric wheelchair, and a weightless flight with a NASA astronaut.
“This is a better way for people to give,” Kristel said.  “It's not as constrictive.”

They are the only company on the east coast to provide an auction management service at the community level where a percentage of the proceeds goes to charity, according to both principals.  They adopted the concept from community selling, a marketing tool found on eBay.
eWired Auctions' competitive edge is that they explain how the donors will interact with auctions. They consult with the types of items to auction and they can fulfill those items.  Partnered with Auction Anything, they are certified to consult on multiple platforms.  “We want to build our own online auction systems because we know what we like and don't like,” Kristel said.

The next steps needed for eWired Auctions to raise itself to a competitive industry position: launch a team of account executives, convene a board of advisors and to execute a focused business plan.

Posted on Feb 20, 2006

The Union College Department of Theater and Dance will present its Winter Dance Concerts at the Yulman Theatre March 3 and 4 at 8 p.m.

Actors and dancers collaborate on a mix of musical styles and themes ranging from a “Rent” solo to the storybook ballet “Giselle” to an original dance-theater piece focusing on French artist and writer Jean Cocteau.

One of the program's major pieces, “Jean Cocteau: Le Prince Frivole,” to music by Erik Satie, is an original creation by Miryam Moutillet, director of the college's dance program, and Charles Batson, associate professor of French, in which theater majors dance and dance students deliver lines of text.

All of the performers took the course “Staging Explorations in Theater and Dance,” co-taught by Moutillet and Batson. “We've never done this before. They're all involved in the process of what it's like to create a dance-theater piece,” said Moutillet.

“We wanted to offer a course to celebrate the new Department of Theater and Dance,” said Batson, noting the recent combination of the two programs. “We're tracing the life and work of Jean Cocteau, putting him on trial for his notions of art, and we're having a blast.”

The costumes are designed by Lloyd Waiwaiole, the set design is by Charles Steckler and the lighting design by John Miller. Susan Beckhardt '07 is the projection designer, Cooper Braun-Enos ‘06 is the sound engineer, and Charles Holiday ‘06 and Mandee Moondi '06 are the stage managers.

The dances feature Union students and two professional dancers who are members of the Union faculty, Marcus Rogers and Alexis Pangborn.

The dances scheduled are: “Giselle,” a ballet adaptation by Moutillet for principal dancers Rachael Peters '07 and Rogers and 20 corps de ballet dancers; “A Place to Land,” a modern dance for three created by Jessica Murtagh '06; “I'll Cover You,” from the Broadway show, “Rent,” choreographed and performed by Rogers; “Footloose,” a tap number for seven dancers, created by Rogers; “Hung Up,” a jazz piece by Rogers for 21 dancers, set to music by Madonna; “Agon,” the Balanchine masterpiece, adapted and performed by Pangborn; and “Canco De Bressol,” a modern Spanish piece, also adapted and performed by Pangborn.

Tickets go on sale Monday, Feb. 20 at the Yulman Theatre. The cost is $10 for general admission and $7 for Union faculty, staff and students. For more information, call the Yulman Theatre Box Office at 388-6545.

Posted on Feb 20, 2006

William Denison Williams, a member of the Class of 1932, bequeathed more than $5 million to the College, one of the largest individual gifts to the school.

A longtime resident of Scotia, Williams died October 15, 2005, in Doylestown, Pa. He was 95.

Williams received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He was a member of Eta Kappa Nu.  He also studied at Duke and Cornell universities. After he graduated from Union College, Williams went to work for General Electric, where he was manager of the Magnetics Section and worked in the engineering laboratory. He married Virginia Smith in 1950. The couple had no children.

Williams was a loyal donor to the College, contributing modest amounts annually. When he died, he left behind an estate that exceeded $20 million, much of it acquired through investments.

Williams divided the bulk of his estate between Union College, Piedmont College in Georgia (his wife's alma mater) and the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa. Williams, an accomplished violinist who performed with orchestras in New York and Philadelphia, also left gifts to individual musicians.

The gift to the College was unrestricted. College officials will use the money to endow two chairs in his honor. The academic designation for the chairs has not been decided.

“We are extremely grateful to receive this generous gift,'' said Interim President James Underwood. “Union obviously played a big role in William's life, and we are happy to honor this outstanding alumnus by endowing two chairs in his name.''

The largest gift in the College's 211-year history was the $20 million given in November 2002 by John Wold, a geologist and former U.S. Congressman from Casper, Wyo. and his wife Jane. Previously, the largest gift was $9 million from the F.W. Olin Foundation, Inc. of New York City, in 1996 for a high-technology classroom and laboratory building known as the F.W. Olin Center.