2019 Henry Suzzallo Society Newsletter

Henry Suzzallo Society Newsletter Edition: 2019

Donors who include the University of Washington in their estate plans become members of the Henry Suzzallo Society. We are excited to celebrate our donors with our first annual newsletter, showcasing UW news and events and spotlighting some extraordinary members of our society and the impact they are making.

Membership in the Henry Suzzallo Society is a way for the University to thank and recognize future donors now for their commitment to make a future gift.

Scroll down to read each article, or view the entire newsletter(PDF).

Henry Suzzallo Reception 2018

The annual Henry Suzzallo Society Reception gives members an intimate look at the innovative, extraordinary work being done at our University.

The 2018 reception, at the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering, featured Professor Siddhartha Srinivasa and HERB, the Home Exploring Robot Butler. Together, Srinivasa and HERB test technologies and methods that enable robots to perform complex and delicate home-care tasks for those in need.

More than 175 people attended the 2018 Henry Suzzallo Society Reception, and we’re excited to welcome all Society members to this year’s event. Donor support makes it possible for UW faculty and students to pursue their academic passions, help others and change the world.

 

Donor Spotlights

Honoring a professor’s impact

Bob Wilson’s educational path to the University of Washington came about by chance, but his decision to honor the professor who changed his life will be made possible through a well thought out planned gift.

Wilson was in his first year studying engineering at the University of Michigan and found himself unhappy with the course work. A bright student from Detroit, he had already learned most of what he was being taught while in high school, Cass Technical.

His high school girlfriend’s family had moved out to Washington State and, on a whim, he went to visit. Wilson loved the weather in Washington, although he admits he was here during the summer and might have reconsidered his opinion if he had visited in January.

He looked into and ultimately transferred to the University of Washington but, much to his frustration, engineering still didn’t seem to be the right fit for him.
To explore other options, Wilson decided to take an accounting course over the summer and immediately felt a kinship with the material. Fit or no fit however, Wilson fretted that he would lose credits if he transferred his major which would delay his graduation, a big issue for a man paying his own way through school.

After receiving an “A” in the accounting course taught by Professor Julius Roller, Wilson approached him for advice on how to move forward. Being the first in his family to go to college, Wilson did not have someone close to provide guidance. He went to office hours and hoped Professor Roller would be able to steer him in the right direction.

“He basically saved me” Wilson recalls, adding that with Professor Roller’s guidance and “creative accounting” work on his existing credits, they were able to devise a plan for Wilson to switch majors and graduate on time.

“If you go to register and they give you any guff, you have them call me” Wilson recalls Professor Roller telling him.

Professor Roller’s interest in his education was the cornerstone of Wilson’s path into the world of accounting. He graduated on time as promised and was commissioned as an Officer in the Air Force, putting his degree to good use as an auditor.

After leaving the military, Wilson landed a job with Arthur Anderson, a CPA firm in the consulting division that led him to several states and a 4-year assignment abroad in Sweden. During the last five years of Wilson’s career he worked exclusively with General Motors Corp. He helped GM make improvements in how their parts plants operate by implementing the Toyota Production System. Over the more than 30 years he stayed with the company and became a partner, Wilson remembered the professor who helped him achieve his distinguished career.

“Accounting has been very good to me. I feel a lot of my success is due to a solid foundation in accounting at UW”.

To honor Professor Roller, Wilson has made a bequest to benefit to the Julius A. Roller Professor of Accounting endowed faculty position. To help the next generation of students, an additional directive in Wilson’s bequest, supported by his wife Judy, will establish an endowed undergraduate scholarship for students studying accounting.

Keeping family history alive

Growing up in Miami, Robert Wallace thought his parents spoke their own secret language.

“I didn’t even know what my heritage was until I was in my teens” Wallace describes. “I didn’t know the culture, I didn’t speak the language.”

Plagued with fears of persecution and with strong desires to blend in, his parents were tightlipped about their family history, going as far as changing their family name from Walinchus to Wallace, a change that still brings about questions from some relatives.

“They didn’t want me to have any burdens,” Wallace explains “there was an embarrassment about growing up second generation Eastern European.”

One of the few personal insights to his culture was a family trip to Lithuania in spring of 1989 to participate in the Baltic Way movement, also known as the Hands Across the Baltic, where millions of people joined hands to form a human chain to represent support for independence.

Wallace’s experience with the proud and generous people of the Baltic region had a profound effect on his understanding of his Lithuanian heritage and the hardships his grandparents endured before immigrating to America.
His personal desire to keep the Lithuanian culture and language alive drove Wallace to seek out the University of Washington, one of only two universities in the United States that teaches all three Baltic languages – Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian.

In memory of his parents and to honor his own lineage, Wallace set up a bequest in his will to create two endowments, one to support the faculty that teach the language, history and culture of Baltic countries, and the other to provide programmatic support in Baltic studies to create exchange opportunities for faculty and students.

Both endowments will ensure the culture Wallace has strived to learn about will be embraced by students for years to come. When asked how he thinks his parents would feel about giving back to a University program in Baltic studies, Wallace said “I think they would be very proud.”

Part of the giving-back culture

Nancy and Ben Remak’s pride for the University of Washington is evident with just a quick glance around their home. Pictures of UW memories and milestones adorn every wall in the house, from the entry way all the way to what they refer to as “The Husky Room”.

From floor to ceiling, “The Husky Room” lives up to its name as a monument to all things Husky. Pictures of the Remak’s time at various UW events line one wall. Jackets, coats and sweaters have their own clothing rack right in the middle of the room.

There are UW mementos from friends, pendants and game balls, even newspaper clippings of University events dating back to the 1970’s. One visit with the Remak’s and one could never doubt their passion for UW.
It should be no surprise then that the Remak’s passion for the University has manifested itself in their giving as well.

Nancy’s first gift to the University of Washington was in 1978, and she has built upon that one time gift with her husband, Ben.
Both Nancy and Ben had parents who were generous in giving back to others.

“He insisted in doing it” Nancy recalls of her father, adding that he particularly liked helping children through the Boys and Girls Club and Easter Seals.

Ben’s dad did not want presents or a party for his 80th birthday. He told his son he wanted a scholarship set up, specifically to help those connected to South Africa, where he had fond memories of being helped himself.

“So that got everything started” Nancy says with a smile and indeed, that first scholarship set up for Ben’s father spurred them on in their path of giving, so much so that now the Remak’s have 5 different scholarships and fellowships and have included the University in their will.

While both express enthusiasm in seeing what their gifts are accomplishing, Nancy, especially, emphasizes that putting UW in their wills is paramount to their estate plans as well.

“We want to make sure when we are gone, it (giving back to the University) continues”.

“The UW has a giving back culture” Nancy explains, followed by Ben’s insistence “why wouldn’t you (give), it’s fun!”

Student Impact

Healthcare champion

Celia Bora has a calling to help others, even as she works tirelessly to complete the University of Washington doctorate in nursing program.

Growing up in rural New York, Bora decided to follow in her grandmother’s footsteps and study nursing at a university in Vermont. While in school, she worked providing care to those in the community who were homebound. “That’s when I really started seeing the social determinants of health,” she says.

Driven to “help those disenfranchised with health care,” Bora decided to further her education. She chose the UW’s program because it offered a geriatric focus not found in other university nursing programs. “Even on the East Coast,” Bora notes, “the UW has an excellent reputation.”

After arriving in Seattle, Bora found a nursing job to support herself while in school. Juggling her work schedule with the demands of the UW program, she felt she wasn’t always able to make education her main priority. Bora was awarded the Lorraine Troop Endowed Scholarship in Nursing for the 2018–19 academic year. The scholarship relieved financial pressure, Bora says, by allowing her to “take a step back and really focus on school.”

After graduation this spring, Bora doesn’t plan on slowing down. “I have two big goals: to open a rural geriatric practice and to influence [health-care] policy,” she says. “I want to provide care that the health-care system tends to leave behind.”