Giving Stories

Beloved French professor establishes scholarship through her estate.

Juliette Breffort Blessing came to Mary Washington in 1957 to share her worldly knowledge of all things French, including language, theater, and cultural history. Former students remember her flair for fashion, her wonderful accent, and her expert and often life-changing advice and guidance.

“I first met Madame Blessing when I was a freshman in her French Civilization and Literature class,” says Kathy Liggett Leis ’69. “Thanks to her expert teaching, I became totally enamored with the subject and changed my major to French. Her faith in me was unwavering.”

UMW Professor Ana Garcia Chichester ’76 remembers Dr. Blessing as a dedicated professor and role model. “I was a French major, so I had several courses with her and benefited from her love of literature,” says Ana. “I still remember the nineteenth century poetry course I took with her. She loved to read and recite poetry to our class. Her spoken French was beautiful and she was very proud of her Parisian accent!”

Other students, including Catherine B. Elwell ’73, remember Dr. Blessing from a freshman liberal arts seminar. “It was a stimulating academic course, which I appreciated as an introduction to my campus life at MWC,” says Cathy. “I remember Madame Blessing as very friendly, warm, approachable, and lighthearted.”

A native of France, Dr. Blessing held degrees from the University of Lille, the University of Paris, and the University of Dijon. In 1982, she was honored with the Ordre des Palmes Academiques, an award from the French government in recognition of her contributions as a “distinguished academic or teacher for valuable service to universities, education, and science.” The award is one of the oldest civil honors bestowed by the French Republic.

Dr. Blessing retired from Mary Washington in 1992 after 35 years of teaching, and she was awarded the title of Professor Emerita of Modern Foreign Languages. She lived in Washington, D.C., until her passing in 2020 at the age of 94.

Always thinking of ways to help and advance students, Dr. Blessing included arrangements in her will to create a scholarship at Mary Washington. The UMW Board of Visitors recently approved the new Juliette Breffort Blessing Scholarship for French Study, which will support study abroad opportunities for a junior or senior majoring in French language.

Kathy Leis says her former professor’s passing is a profound loss. “Dr. Blessing was the pivotal force in my life. Her love of the French language became my life-long passion and set me on my life path. I truly credit her with my immensely rewarding career teaching French, an unlikely outcome for a girl from Alabama whose spoken French at the time was –charitably – appalling.”

Kathy adds, “I am who I am because of Juliette Blessing.”

For more information about bequests to support students at Mary Washington, contact the Office of Gift Planning at jclarke@umw.edu or 540-654-2064.

 

– Article written by Donna Harter

Click here to see Giving Tuesday results.

Giving Tuesday may be over – but you can still make a gift to UMW and benefit from some of the following end-of-year Giving and Tax Benefits:

• The CARES Act passed in 2020 included several charitable tax provisions to encourage giving. These provisions have been extended for 2021.
• If you itemize on your 2021 tax return, take advantage of the CARES Act provision that allows you to deduct up to 100% of your annual adjusted gross income (AGI) for cash contributions to public charities.
• If you do not itemize, you still can claim a special “above-the-line” deduction on your 2021 tax return that reduces your taxable income prior to the calculation of AGI. This universal deduction under the CARES Act is valued up to $300.
• If you have a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) and wish to help us this year, you can make a gift from your DAF to support our work without affecting your personal financial security. Check with your financial or tax advisor for your best year-end giving strategies.
• To learn more about giving opportunities, contact UMW Advancement at umwgift@umw.edu or 540-654-1024.

Click here to make your year-end gift now.

Watch the first episode of our new Leading Lives series:
Reflections, featuring the story of John and Phyllis Newby Thompson ’69

Originally from South Boston, Virginia, Phyllis’s first home-away-from-home was Willard Hall. As she continued to pursue her studies, a boy from her hometown began visiting on a regular basis – and Mary Washington soon became an important part of both their lives. Phyllis became a teacher and John launched a successful business career. Now married 51 years and living on the West Coast, the couple recently made a significant gift to support the Mary Washington student experience.

Leading Lives
For more than a century, Mary Washington alumni have taken lessons learned in the classroom out into the real world to become leaders in their communities and in their fields of study. They have remained connected to their classmates, roommates, and professors while staying actively engaged in networking and mentoring to share their experiences and successes.

Mary Washington alumni lead lives of distinction and inspire others to follow in their footsteps. Through the years, many have found ways to pay it forward through their philanthropic support of UMW students and programs. Leading Lives is a new series that showcases the personal stories behind the decision to give back.

 

The Class of 1970 makes student mental health a giving priority.

In the late 1960s, college students emerged as activists for positive change within their communities. During that same time, the Mary Washington Class of 1970 forged strong bonds of friendship and long-lasting connections.

To celebrate their 50th reunion in 2020, members of the class chose to invest in on-campus mental health services, specifically at the Talley Center for Counseling Services.

They were inspired by a 2014 gift made by Mary Washington alumna Betty Dobbins Talley ’68 to support and rename the facility. “I decided that this is what I want my legacy to be, because these services were not available to me and my peers,” says Betty. A counselor for more than 40 years, Betty specifically requested that ‘psychological services’ be removed from the name to reduce any perceived stigma of seeking out mental health services.

“Mental health, and seeking out help was once an invisible struggle, but it is now a major priority,” says Dr. Tevya Zukor, a licensed clinical psychologist and the director of the Talley Center.

Prior to the recent pandemic, students and young people were already experiencing mental health crises. According to Dr. Zukor, the onset of COVID-19 exacerbated existing anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and disordered eating.

“One of the biggest and most common challenges for Mary Washington students in the COVID age is navigating new-found social isolation and preparing for face-to-face interactions when they do happen,” says Dr. Zukor.

To continue the work begun by Betty Talley, the Class of 1970 initially set a fundraising goal of $50,000 to fund an additional endowment for the Talley Center. While they had to reschedule their anticipated celebration, they still were able to meet and even exceed the fundraising goal. In 2021, they announced their total gift to the University in support of the Talley Center was $56,018.

This new endowment will support a more diverse counseling staff featuring more women of color and non-English speaking and bilingual professionals to meet the needs of students.  It also will assist in enhancing the Talley Center’s large training program, providing professional development for future mental health professionals.

In addition, the perpetual fund will enable the Center to continue hosting numerous student groups, including the LGBTQIA support group, the sexual assault survivor group, and the grief and loss group.

A student who wishes to remain anonymous says she found the Talley Center very helpful. “I came in with many issues that I knew I couldn’t solve myself. I found peace through new techniques provided by my counselor, and I’ve started to regain love for myself. Everyone is extremely welcoming and understanding.”

For more information about the Talley Center, visit https://students.umw.edu/counseling.

For information about making a gift, visit https://giving.umw.edu or contact the Office of Advancement at 540-654-1024 or advance@umw.edu.

 

Article written by Advancement Intern Callie Jordan ’23