Leaving a legacy

I received 3 emails this month from my undergraduate alma mater (one was from the department), and I am surprised (because they had never sent me more than one per year; always asking me for money!). It turned out that the 5th Year Reunion is coming up. A survey was also included that asked for my philantrophic plans - and whether the university and/or department is going to be a beneficiary.

Wah lau, they start with the young alumni. As I had told AEG, I am unlikely to leave anything to my relatives and future descendents; the bulk will go to my alma maters (undergrad and grad schools) in the form of professorships/endowed chairs/scholarships if I end up rich enough. I won't want to see anything similar happening to my family when I am gone.

If I do have kid(s), the most they/he/she will get from me is a university education. After that, they will be on their own.

What's yours?

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Save Dartmouth appeared on the online front page of New York Times today. They have a very committed alumni body, not like NUS.

What I liked was this part:

This is not about the recent election of “petition” Trustees. It’s not about divisive politics. It’s about keeping Dartmouth Dartmouth. Attending the College on the Hill today is a magnificent undergraduate experience, as it has always been. Changing the basis for Trustee selection could lead to a Harvard-style Trustee Board in which the voice of alumni/ae—and Dartmouth’s emphasis on undergraduate education—will be diminished.

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...Dartmouth's proper mission is to be the very best undergraduate college in the world and not a second-tier research university.”

Hur hur. Making a dig at Harvard.