SUNY Maritime Announces Major Gifts

3 MAJOR GIFTS ANNOUNCED: TWO MAJOR ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS & LARGEST PLEDGE IN COLLEGE’S HISTORY SUNY Maritime College announces three major gifts received as a result of two successful fundraising events – the 2006 Admiral’s Scholarship Dinner and the Class of 1956 Reunion Committee’s class gift campaign. Major gift donors are Clay Maitland, a former college foundation trustee and long time contributor; and Class of 1956 alumni, Captain Brian A. McAllister and Captain John F. Fox.

With a record turnout of 550 guests on hand, the 2006 Admiral’s Scholarship Dinner capped the most successful year in Maritime’s fundraising history with over $410,000 raised through this year’s spring event. Clay Maitland, a long time contributor to maritime related organizations and a former college foundation trustee chose the dinner to make public his intention to donate $100,000 to the College for a named scholarship. Mr. Maitland’s scholarship, the largest scholarship endowed by a single donor in Maritime’s history, will provide an annual award to recruit an outstanding scholar to the graduate program in Business and International Transportation Management.

Maitland’s gift, according to Maritime president Admiral John Craine, signifies a new era in fundraising at the College and will offer a new level of energy to Maritime’s graduate program. “Clay’s willingness to make this investment in our graduate program signifies how important this program is within our industry,” said Admiral Craine. “Not only will we be able to attract top students from around the world to come and study at Maritime, having an advocate like Clay working on our behalf will give a graduate degree from Maritime much prestige and will open doors for our graduates anywhere in the transportation business.” Captain Brian McAllister ’56, an Admiral’s Dinner award recipient in 2005 and a member of the Class of 1956 Reunion Committee, made his own special announcement at the Admiral’s Dinner, that he would make a $100,000 donation to the Class of 1956 Endowed Scholarship Fund. McAllister is a principle owner and president of McAllister Towing and Transportation Company, Inc., one of the oldest and largest and most diversified marine towing and transportation companies in the United States. The Class of 1956 is the 100th graduating class of SUNY Maritime College and will be celebrating its 50th reunion during Homecoming Weekend on Sept. 15-17.

Captain John F. Fox, also an alumnus of the Class of 1956 who spent 25 years in the U.S. Navy and also enjoyed a career as an entrepreneur, made a pledge of $125,000 to the Class of ’56 Cadet Scholarship Fund. This gift, to be invested in the SUNY Endowment Fund, is the largest ever made to Maritime. Class of 1956 Reunion Chair, Dick Bracken notes that the class began its campaign with an initial goal of $100,000, but that goal was quickly eclipsed by Fox’s and McAllister’s large gifts. The campaign total has now reached $389,000 in gifts and pledges, and a new goal of $400,000 is certain to be exceeded, according to Bracken.