Whitman '77 stands out in crowd of male contributors

Meg Whitman '77 stands out among Princeton's largest financial contributors, not because she is a friend of President Tilghman or CEO of eBay, but because she is a woman.

Alumnae have a long tradition of contributing to Princeton, often donating generous sums of money, time, expertise and support to the University. Whitman's $30 million donation is something new. The sum is the largest ever given by a woman to the University. Whitman College, which the money will help fund, will be the first residential college not named for a man.

The University's largest individual donations have been given overwhelmingly by men. Among the top 30 donors to Annual Giving in 2001, only three were female. In 1997 and 1999, only one woman made the top-30 list each year. No women were among the 30 biggest contributors in 1998 or 2000.

Whitman's donation, however, was not made through Annual Giving. Rather, the $30 million was a restricted capital donation, meaning that the money was earmarked specifically for the new residential college.

But males have also traditionally dominated the list of capital donations, which include some of the largest gifts. Those donations are handled separately from contributions to Annual Giving.

Although Whitman's gift is record-breaking, it may be part of a larger trend. The Class of 1973 was the first to fully integrate women. University alumnae are only now beginning to reach the 30th year of their careers.

"Females are just now reaching seniority in the alumni body," said Michele Minter, associate senior director of leadership giving. Seniority tends to translate into more lavish contributions. "We are seeing changes in the kind of time and money from women," Minter added.

Robert Rawson '66, chair of the University Board of Trustees, said while this is a big event for the University, it would be wrong to portray it as a radical change in females' roles at the University. Lavish donations such as Whitman's, however, do not neccesarily result in an increase in influence of a particular person or group. "People don't buy their way onto the board of trustees," he said.

Rawson said the primary reason this does not imply a radical change in women's roles at the University is that women already exert significant influence over University decisions.

There is no doubt, however, that there is symbolic importance of an eight-figure donation from an alumna.

The gift "will have an important demonstration effect for our women who are loyal and contributing, but don't think in [million dollar] terms," Rawson said.

University Trustee Janet Clarke '75 said she hopes that Whitman's generosity will inspire both male and female alumni. "By any gender, $30 million is a very generous gift," she said.

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Many believe, however, the symbolic importance of the gift goes well beyond encouraging more donations. They contend that one of the most striking messages it sends is that Princeton is reaping stunning financial advantages from its decision to include women on its campus more than 30 years ago.