Union Honors the Blair Legacy
Union College has announced a new award named in honor of Jane and Douglas Blair, Barbourville, Ky., natives and decades-long supporters of the college.
The Jane and Doug Blair Legacy Stewardship Award will be presented by Union to individuals, community groups, businesses or other entities who give long-term and significant support to the college and its students.
The award is intended to honor a select group of supporters, according to Denise Wainscott, Union’s vice president for advancement.
“Jane and Doug Blair have set the bar very high in terms of what it means to be faithful, committed and generous partners in Union’s educational endeavor,” she said. “We want this award to respect that legacy by being reserved for those who meet the standard set by their philanthropy and stewardship.”
Douglas Blair served as a trustee for Union from 1974 until his death in 1999. During his tenure, he championed an educational experience that is both structured and informal, led the college through a difficult financial period of its history, and became one of Union’s top contributors.
“Doug provided firm leadership at a critical time in the college’s history,” said Union President Ed de Rosset. “In the 130-plus year history of the school, there are few who stewarded us as solidly and as successfully.”
Jane Blair, wife of the late Douglas Blair, continues the Blair family legacy. She is an associate college trustee, a twenty-six-year member of the college’s highest-level giving club, and a past recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Service Award. In 2007, Jane Blair was presented with the Union College Philanthropist Award in recognition of the Blairs’ thirty-six years of consecutive, high-level giving.
“Doug and Jane Blair shared an unflinching love for the college,” said de Rosset. “Across the past ten years, Jane has embraced her role as standard-bearer of the Blair legacy at Union with friendship, enthusiasm, generosity and continued leadership.”
The inaugural Jane and Doug Blair Legacy Stewardship Award will be presented during Union College’s annual Homecoming Banquet and Awards Ceremony on October 24. Kentucky River Properties LLC has been chosen as the first recipient. The Lexington-based company has supported Union through endowed scholarships, curriculum development and consistent giving since the 1970s.
Union College is a private liberal arts college related to The United Methodist Church and located in Barbourville, Ky.
May 8, 2009
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