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A Russell Sage alumna and her husband, who have asked to remain anonymous, have made a gift of $10 million to support Russell Sage College. The gift was announced to the college community in a special ceremony on the Troy campus on June 12.
“In the current climate of higher education, many schools are reinventing themselves. Sage is not. Rather, they are focusing on what we’ve always done best: Educating the underserved,” the alumna donor said. “Yes, originally women, but now first-generation college students, people who have taken a break from their education, and people taking the next step to enhance their careers. There is a place for all of them at Sage.”
The alumna’s love for the college, the turnaround Russell Sage made in the last several years to reach a strong financial position, and her interest in preserving the historic Troy campus motivated this transformative gift.
“As we prepare to kick off a comprehensive fundraising campaign for Russell Sage, I am moved by the generosity of this alumna donor and her family. Russell Sage does life-changing work, and this gift enables us to empower more students to improve their lives and communities through education, sustaining the vision of our founder, Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage,” President Matthew Shaftel said. “I’m humbled that our work on the merger with Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and our ambitious new strategic plan have not only the approval of this alumna, but that it inspired her to invest so much of her treasure in the premier comprehensive healthcare-forward university we are building together.”
The gift will:
- Preserve the historic brownstones on the Troy campus.
- Establish three scholarships: one for graduate students, one for undergraduates studying liberal arts as a nod to the original mission of Russell Sage College, and another undergraduate scholarship for students studying in the health sciences. This represents the first scholarship established to support any health sciences student after the merger with Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to become Russell Sage University receives final approval.
- Provides program support for the Denise Taber Finard ‘80 Women’s Institute at Russell Sage.
This is the second $10 million gift in the last two years at Russell Sage. The last one, by alumna Donna Robinson Esteves ’70, was announced during President Shaftel’s inauguration ceremony in October 2024.
The most recent gift was inspired by the generous alumnae who came before this donor, including Esteves, who has given more than $35 million to Russell Sage, and Lucille Rosenfeld Shea, who attended Russell Sage in the 1930s and whose estate gift supported so many activities across campus.
“During this pivotal point in time for higher education, this gift represents hope and confidence for the future of Russell Sage University and the many students who will benefit from this family’s generosity for generations to come,” said Teri Gartland, vice president for advancement at Russell Sage.