Gifts in Action
The focus of San Diego State University’s endowment is to enable sustainable advancement in four key areas: support for students, faculty development, program innovation and our learning environment. Please take a moment to read the inspiring profiles below which detail the extraordinary investments three of our endowment donors, Neva Smith, Ron Dietz and Mary Willette made in SDSU’s academic excellence—they’re making a difference.
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All it took was a journey around the world during World War II, and Neva Smith wanted nothing more than to help others. Dedicating her life to education, this inspirational woman continues her lifelong commitment to learning through establishing the Neva and Ralph Smith Scholarship. Read An Inspirational Trip Around the World Leads Former Teacher to Invest in Minds that Move It |
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By establishing the Clifford and Ruth Dietz Scholarship Endowment in 1998, Ron Dietz was able to honor his parents and express his pride and enthusiasm for the common bond that athletics can create. Read A Die-Hard Alumnus Supports Aztec Athletics. |
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By establishing the William Sample and Fern Sample Stanford Memorial Endowment to Enhance International Exchange within the School of Hospitality and Toursim Management, Mary Willette created a legacy of enabling talented hospitality and tourism management students to broaden their perspective of this industry by studying abroad. Read A Global Perspective: International Study Enriches Student Education in HTM. |
An Inspirational Trip Around the World Leads Former Teacher to Invest in Minds that Move It
“One hundred years from now, it will not matter what car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in my bank account, or what my clothes looked like. But one hundred years from now, the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child.” Although the author of this quote is unknown, she captured a sentiment firmly held by many educators: The importance of making a difference in the life of a child by engaging their mind.
That is precisely what Neva Smith sought out to do through her lifelong devotion to education, which recently culminated in her establishing an endowed scholarship at San Diego State in support of future teachers.
“We need to encourage children to think for themselves and to engage their curiosity. I really believe our next generation of teachers can accomplish this. They must recognize that they have the ability to turn around the lives of the kids they teach,” Neva said. “I’ve always loved being a part of the teaching community. It’s one of the only fields where people believe they can, and are, making a difference.”
Coming of age in an era tormented by World War I, it is fitting that Neva wanted to help improve the lives of others. This passion was further fueled when she and her husband, the late Ralph Smith, embarked on a journey that exposed them to sights and events that most might prefer to read about in history books.
Lesson One – “The World is Your Oyster”
It began in New York City in 1939. After a year of marriage, and another year of saving their incomes during the Great Depression, Neva and her husband were finally in the position to realize a long-held dream: they were going to travel around the world.
The couple traveled to countries such as Germany, Italy, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Japan and China at the beginning of World War II. Each destination affected the couple differently, yet clearly had a cumulative impact on Neva’s drive to make a difference. One place that deeply resonated with her was the last place they saw, what she refers to as the ‘disaster of Shanghai.’
Her recollection of the infamous Shanghai ghetto was disturbing. An area in China occupied by the Japanese, Shanghai became home to 20,000 Jewish refugees who fled Nazi Germany during World War II. Neva witnessed consequences of the war firsthand, not only there, but in each of the war-torn countries to which she traveled. During her travels, Neva spoke with the families impacted. Through these experiences, her passion to help others became her goal in life.
Lesson Two – Ordinary Ideas Become Extraordinary Lives
After returning to port in San Francisco, Neva and her husband made their way to southern California, where they made their home. Neva also started a new chapter in her life that begins, and continues to this day, with education.
“I originally thought, ‘I’ll save the world by being a social worker,’” Neva said. “Then when I had children, I started thinking about what would be an ideal profession for a mother. The answer was teaching. So I dedicated my career to being a primary school teacher for 28 years.”
While Neva ultimately obtained her master’s in education from CSU Long Beach, she also attended many other universities in southern California while pursuing her teaching credential. Neva is now a San Diego resident, and she strongly believes in SDSU’s commitment to teaching and community engagement. Based upon these strengths, Neva chose to support the San Diego State by providing scholarship opportunities for students majoring in liberal studies, specifically those who hope to become educators one day.
“I want the Neva and Ralph Smith Scholarship Endowment to help future teachers, especially those with financial need, who are talented and serious about engaging the minds of their students,” Neva said. “It is my pleasure to support SDSU, where they’re using innovative methods to educate. And to be able to contribute where I know it will make a difference, and while I can actually see it happening – well, that’s the point of giving, if you ask me.”
A Die-Hard Alumnus Supports Aztec Athletics
Rowers accomplish more before the average person arrives at work than the rest of us do before noon. Perhaps that’s why Ronald. E. Dietz, as an homage to his crew team days, made more philanthropic donations to SDSU in nine years than many people contribute in their lifetimes.
An alumnus from the classes of ’65 and ’67, with a bachelor’s in chemistry and a master’s in mathematics, Ron attended San Diego State when the campus had a Men’s Crew Team (for which he later served as manager) and the University was called San Diego State College. Yet while much has changed since his days on the mesa, Ron’s pride and enthusiasm for his fellow Aztecs burns just as brightly as it did as a student.
Honoring Two Lives
Through his understanding of the connections between sports and science, Ron not only acknowledges the challenges of being a student-athlete, but also the value of athletics for SDSU and the surrounding community. As a result, Ron established the Clifford and Ruth Dietz Scholarship Endowment in 1998, named for and funded by the estate of his parents.
“I can’t think of a better way to invest the money my parents worked so hard to earn than creating this endowment as a memorial to them,” Ron said. “It will benefit student athletes for the foreseeable future, and they will be remembered for making it possible.”
The foreseeable future is precisely why he proceeded to give generously to SDSU over the following nine years, earning him the honor of being a member of the Tower Society, a giving club for San Diego State’s leadership donors who have supported the university in its pursuit of excellence. According to Ron, including SDSU in his will would not have enabled the funds to be accessed now or given him the opportunity to personally acknowledge the motivated students to whom he provided support.
Inspirational athletes
“The student-athletes who receive these scholarships are those who, in the opinion of their coaches, exemplify what it means to be a student-athlete: role models who are and will continue to be valuable members of their teams,” said Ron. “They don’t have to be the best athletes or the best students, but they are individuals who are dedicated and put forth one hundred percent of their effort in everything they do. I believe these are the individuals who will one day look back and feel that the years they spent at SDSU were some of the best years of their lives.”
In addition to the scholarship endowment, Ron also created an endowment for the SDSU Women’s Crew Team in honor of a former coach, Del Beekley, as well as a scholarship for the College of Sciences that bears his own name. For Ron, it is clear how strongly he believes in the personal investment he has made in the university and its minds that move the world.
A sense of community
According to Ron, “Athletics bring people together. Whether you are a biology or business major, a student or a student-athlete, following college athletics offers the opportunity for a common bond. And it doesn’t end when you’re no longer a student, but continues later in life as an alum and further throughout the community.
“I will continue to support athletics because of the spirit and enthusiasm it brings to San Diego State—I believe creating that sense of energy and excitement is incredibly important.”
A common bond
Mary Sample Willette was a teenager when she met Meral Korzay, a Turkish student studying in San Diego through a Rotary exchange program. The two have maintained a decades-long friendship while living on different continents.
Cultural differences have enriched their bond, and so has a common interest in hospitality and tourism. William Sample, Mary’s father, was co-founder of Atlas Hotels, which started with the Town and Country Hotel, a premier property in Mission Valley. Meral’s interest in the field arose later, when she began a career teaching hospitality and tourism management classes at Istanbul’s Bogazici University.
Creating a legacy
According to Mary, her lifelong friendship with Meral, as well as her parent’s devotion to their business, motivated her to create a legacy within the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) at San Diego State. Her significant planned gift to the university created the William Sample and Fern Sample Memorial Endowment to Enhance International Exchange, a source of funding that will exist in perpetuity.
“I felt it was important to honor my parents while also encouraging students to study abroad,” Mary said. “Through my own experiences, I’ve learned that international travel helps to expand your perspective and how you view the world.”
The endowment will eventually provide a minimum of $60,000 annually in support of international study for SDSU’s HTM students and for international students interested in studying the field at SDSU. Honoring Mary’s strong connection to Meral, preference will be given to those who study abroad at Bogazici University. A portion of the funding will also support HTM faculty participation in foreign exchange programs and activities.
An alignment of vision
HTM Director Carl Winston said Mary’s contribution aligns perfectly with the vision of SDSU’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
“SDSU has one of the largest study abroad programs in the country, and we’re consistently ranked among the best,” Winston said. “This global orientation is a component of all SDSU schools and programs, especially within the tourism specialty.
“Our new emphasis in sustainable tourism requires a semester abroad. Mary’s gift will make this possible for many students, including those who couldn’t otherwise afford it. She is helping us offer invaluable hands-on experience to support our students’ personal growth as well as their careers, and we are grateful for her vision and generosity.”
For more information about planned giving at SDSU, go to SDSUgift.org or call our Office of Planned Giving at 619-594-1793.