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Carla
Rizzo Delray, right, with UAlbany President Karen Hitchcock
By
Carol Olechowski
Carla Rizzo Delray, B.A.'42,
was a woman ahead of her time. She recognized at a very early age that
being a "generalist" - a word she defined as "someone who knows how
to do more than one job" - would give her an edge in the job market.
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MILLION
- DOLLAR
GIFTS
TO UALBANY
Carla
Rizzo Delray's bequest to the University at Albany, estimated
at $1 million, is one of the five largest individual gifts in
UAlbany history. The other gifts, each valued at $1 million or
more, are:
• $1.5 million from the estate of English Professor Emeritus M.E.
Grenander in 1999. The money supports the James W. Corbett Distinguished
Professorship in Physics, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special
Collections and Archives in the Libraries, and the Hannah and
Arvy Whitney Award. The Grenander gift was the first of its size
from a faculty member.
• $1.2 million in 1997 from the estate of Gertrude Thompson of
New Jersey. The bequest endowed the Ray Falconer Chair at the
Atmospheric Sciences Research Center. It was the first gift of
its size from a friend of the University.
• $1 million from Class of 1938 members Edward and Frances Gildea
George of Lake Wales, Fla., and Glenmont, N.Y. Their gift, received
in 1997, resulted in the naming of the first building at the University,
the George Education Center, on the East Campus. It is the first
gift of this size from alumni.
• Dr. Thomas D'Ambra, CEO of Albany Molecular Research, Inc.,
and chair of the fund-raising effort for the University's Life
Sciences Research Initiative, announced Nov. 13 that he and his
wife Constance would kick-start the campaign by pledging up to
$1 million to match donations from University faculty, staff and
friends.
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During her years at the New
York State College for Teachers, Delray was something of a Renaissance
woman, majoring in French, Spanish and mathematics and minoring in history.
She credited her education with preparing her for successive careers
in the securities industry, financial analysis and artificial intelligence.
For Delray, the College for Teachers represented "a great opportunity"
to study and lay the foundation for professional success. After her
graduation, however, she never really left the College, which later
became the University at Albany. She chose instead to maintain an affiliation
by corresponding with former professors and friends from her undergraduate
days, and by cultivating new friendships with other University supporters.
In the decades before her death in January 2000, Delray proudly watched
as her alma mater "evolved and reached out to the community." To help
keep that evolution going - and to repay what she saw as a debt to the
University - the General Electric Research & Development Center retiree
decided to invest in the future by leaving the major portion of her
estate to UAlbany to support scientific research. Her bequest, valued
at $1 million, is the first major gift to the fundraising effort for
the Lifes Sciences Research
Initiative.
The University honored Delray for her generosity by inducting her as
a charter member of the Heritage Circle Society. Formed in 1987, the
society recognizes alumni and friends who make planned gift commitments
to the University at Albany. In 1995, Lecture Center 4, a 100-seat,
high-tech computer facility, was named the Carla Rizzo Delray Technology
Center.
Delray, who lived in suburban Albany, once observed: "I believe in the
life of the mind; that's where everything starts. My life would not
have been as fulfilling without my connection to Albany, and I never
would have been able to afford elsewhere the education I received there.
I'm very proud to be an Albany graduate!
"Each of us has to contribute to the future in a positive way. The University
plays a critical role in our lives by providing opportunities for lifelong
learning. Albany deserves our support. We can't wait for the other person
to take the initiative."
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