From the classroom to the boardroom, Galen deGraff’s impact echoes in every business success story he helped launch
Professor of Business Emeritus Galen deGraff, who passed away on July 12, 2025, made a lasting impact on business students during his years teaching management and finance at UMW. Known for sharing real-world insights from his career — including his time as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam — deGraff brought course material to life and encouraged students to pursue internships and independent studies.
“He was a professor, mentor, and friend to Sarah and me,” said Rob Strassheim ’96, who, with wife Sarah Gildersleeve Strassheim ’01, honored deGraff by naming a classroom after him in UMW’s College of Business and established an endowed scholarship in his name to attract out-of-state business administration majors. “This provides a way for his students to support future UMW business students by donating in his memory.”
To make a gift to the Galen F. deGraff Scholarship in Business, visit alumni.umw.edu/degraff.
This story originally ran in the fall 2025 Gift Planning Connections Newsletter.
-Article written by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04
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