Giving Opportunities: Don and Brenda '90 Collins

For Don Collins, faculty emeritus, and his wife Brenda Collins from the Class of 1990, adding The University of Findlay to their estate was “an automatic thought” based on their connections with the institution. As part of the For the Love of Findlay initiative, a bequest in their will endows the Don and Brenda ’90 Collins Scholarship Endowment Fund to support a student majoring in psychology, sociology or English.

“The University of Findlay and Findlay College have given me as well as students so many opportunities,” says Don. At the University, Don taught, served as associate dean of students, and worked with almost every student group on campus. For more than 25 years he worked as academic coach. “We offer students opportunities they can’t find anywhere else,” says Don. “I know many, many students who have really blossomed because of the opportunities they had at Findlay, and I want that to continue.”

As a non-traditional student at the University, Brenda attended the weekend program while working full-time as a single mom. In her time at UF, she relied first on Dr. Ed Erner, dean emeritus, who helped her transition to the program, and later Dr. Lucille Capra, professor emerita of English, who assisted her in managing her course load around other challenges. “It was the nurturing of my instructors that made it possible for me to graduate in 1990 with the first class from The University of Findlay,” she says. “I will always be grateful for the love and connection that the University showed me.”

“Often people think that when you give to a University it has to be in the millions, but it doesn’t. Everything that you contribute is important. Adding UF to our estate was really easy,” says Brenda. They simply made arrangements to include UF in their will and then shared their intentions with the University.

“It was a decision that was fully supported by our children, even though none of them attended UF,” Don explained. Though their children attended other schools, they are excited to see their grandson studying business at The University of Findlay, and they have several other grandchildren who may yet find a home at UF.