Message from
Dean Maureen Grasso

As we approach the 100th anniversary in 2010 of formalized graduate education at UGA, we must seize the opportunity to plan for the next 100 years. What an exciting opportunity for us to provide the seed today for something that will grow and flourish into a $10 million endowment. While
it is true that we may never enjoy the shade of the “tree” we plant now
through gifts to graduate education, our future graduate students will and
they, in turn, will plant other “trees”. That is the beauty of the cycle of giving.

When I was a child, I helped plant a tree in front of my Town Hall. Decades
later, I happened to see a picture of the tree on my hometown’s Web site. It
was huge and definitely thriving. There was and still is such satisfaction
knowing that I helped plant that tree. Its permanence gives me pause—a small gift grew to a beautiful tree that others now enjoy.

Giving to graduate education is very much like my experience in planting
this tree. The contribution may seem small, but it is sure to grow and become
something we could never have envisioned. By giving to graduate education, we
are investing in a better way of life for our children and our children’s children, our community and our world. We are creating an environment that is better than the one we will have left.

And to those who say their contribution could never amount to such a large sum, I remind them that perhaps today it seems small, but it will surely grow and flourish along with others’ financial gifts. I think of the tree at the Town Hall, and I know that before too long, the University of Georgia Graduate School will have an endowment that will be equally as impressive and strong and appreciated by generations to come. I invite you to join me in making a contribution to the graduate school endowment. Your gift specifically to graduate education will make a lasting difference in the lives and futures of our students. Rest assured, if we don’t plant the seeds, no one will ever see the potential our young scholars possess blossom into significant solutions to so many of our challenges.

When Ralph Waldo Emerson said “the creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn,” he
truly captured the essence of the promise your donation holds. Our graduate students have made a commitment to stretch their minds and to create knowledge that will benefit us all. How can we, in turn, not be equally ambitious? I ask you on behalf of our students to make a gift to graduate education to the endowment that will grow into something magnificent and bigger than we could ever hope. You will not be disappointed.

MAUREEN GRASSO
Dean