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Fondness for animals inspires $18.4 million gift to WVU

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Two Morgantown sisters devoted to their pets and the care of animals gave their life savings -- an astounding $18.4 million -- to West Virginia University, officials announced Tuesday (Sept. 4).

The gift from Gladys Gwendolyn Davis and Vivian Davis Michael is the largest private donation from individuals in WVU's history, and targets $16.2 million to the agricultural school, which was renamed the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences in their honor.

The money will fund scholarships in pre-veterinary medicine, endowed professorships in the college's five academic divisions, faculty development programs, internships, seminars, facilities, technology and equipment, according to Dean Cameron Hackney.

WVU does not have a veterinary school, so it will also establish scholarships for WVU graduates attending veterinary schools at other institutions.

The remaining $2.2 million will be divided among the Colleges of Law and Creative Arts ($945,000 each) and the WVU Libraries ($250,000).

Friend and family attorney John Patrick Ball said it was Gladys and Vivian's mother, Estelle Conaway Davis' example of generosity and compassion, that led the women to works of philanthropy.

"Prudent investment of the inheritance left them by their mother and astute management of student rental properties in Sunnyside enabled the two women to support worthy organizations and to leave a lasting legacy for future generations," he said.

Ball said he began working with Estelle Davis, a friend of his own mother's, in 1964 upon his graduation from law school. When she died in 1984, she left her daughters $500,000 each from money she made from the sale of her Maidsville coal land.

Vivian, a social studies teacher in Monongalia County for 41 years, read the Wall Street Journal daily and from her studies of the stock market, invested the money in more than 20 Blue Chip companies. She was also an outgoing civic leader, Ball noted, and earned three degrees from WVU, including one in home economics -- now housed in the Davis College. She married briefly in the early 1940s, but neither woman had children. Vivian died in 1998 at the age of 82.

Gladys also attended WVU, but never finished. She was more introverted, Ball said, and worked as a clerk for the federal government in Washington, D.C, for more than 30 years.She also worked in a local drug store, but preferred to stay home and look after the house and the women's household pets -- which usually consisted of a family of three dogs and two cats. She died in January at the age of 88.

They lived modestly in the South Park area of Morgantown where one of their "greatest extravagances" was the purchase of a new Buick Riviera every four years, Ball said.

Vivian, in particular, because of her school teacher background, had a real understanding of young people and their needs. She was also impressed with WVU's student-centered philosophy and programs. Before she died, Ball said, she expressed a desire to support WVU programs and students that would provide the very best possible veterinary care.

So, together, with Ball's help, the women began funding scholarships for pre-veterinary students and courses in companion animal care, among other things They did not seek public recognition for their gifts, Ball said, but were delighted when students and faculty came by their home to thank them and "to play with their puppies."

Both sisters were active members of the community, as members of the Colonial Dames of the Seventeenth Century, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Women's Club of Morgantown, Monongalia Arts Center, Palatines of America and the Morgantown Music Club. They were also members of the National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Association and National Audobon Society. Both were honorary citizens of Colonial Williamsburg and life members of the Auxiliary of Monongalia General Hospital.

They were also descendants of John Davis, one of the first lot owners of Morgan's Town in 1775.

"This is just an unbelievable act of giving," WVU President David Hardesty said. "The women whose name will grace this college, Gladys and Vivian Davis, were not only generous, but very compassionate individuals. To think that their love of animals, particularly their own pets, and their understanding of WVU's animal and veterinary programs led them to this decision, is just astounding. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts."

WVU Foundation President F. Duke Perry said the recent gifts to the "Building Greatness" campaign helps bring the $250 million goal closer to reality at more than $170 million. The fund-raising effort, the largest in WVU history, began in July 1998 and concludes in December 2003. All told, Perry added, the Davis family gifts to WVU amount to $19.7 million. -WVU-

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