The Class of 1977 Gateway Initiative

Our class has chosen to honor the 50th anniversary of our graduation by supporting Williams students who follow us to Williams.

We call the campaign for our 50th reunion gift The Gateway Initiative. The name recognizes the importance of Hopkins Gate – with its “Climb High, Climb Far” inscription – as an iconic symbol of a Williams education.

The initiative supports three student-focused projects:

Gateway to Inspiration

We will underwrite restoration of Hopkins Gate. The college will celebrate the gateway’s 100th anniversary in 2027, our reunion year. We are determined that it will continue for at least 100 years more to inspire Williams students and launch Williams graduates on the journey toward “your goal the sky, your aim the star.”

Gateway to Access

We will add significantly to our Class of 1977 Scholarship Fund, which we endowed at our 25th reunion. We want to ensure, in perpetuity, that deserving but under-resourced students can study at Williams and go on to change the world.

Financial aid is a very high priority for the college and for our classmates. Gifts to this project may be eligible for a special match, doubling their impact.

Gateway to Success

The transition from teen to adult is tough. Getting through any college, and especially Williams, is a challenge. We know that; we went through it ourselves. Students today face even higher hurdles than we did.

We want today’s Ephs not just to survive, but to thrive, to be the best Williams students and the best Williams graduates they can be. To be their best selves.

So we will endow support for programs to support student success and wellbeing. Programs like IWISE, the Integrative Wellbeing Initiative for Sustainable Excellence, which is currently in its pilot phase and showing early signs of remarkable success.

Classmates may choose to support any or all of these Gateway Initiative options. Gifts can be made outright, through a multi-year pledge, or through a classmate’s estate plan or other planned gift. (We aim before reunion to set a college record by increasing to at least 77 the number of classmates who are members of the Ephraim Williams Legacy Society, with documented estate intentions or planned gifts in support of Williams.)

Even as we focus on this once-in-a-lifetime 50th reunion opportunity to support long-term Williams priorities, we also will maintain and even increase our longstanding record of generosity to the Alumni Fund. The fund supports the college’s current operating budget, and we know how critical it is to the financial health of our alma mater.

Our Alumni Fund totals and our Gateway Initiative gifts and pledges will be part of the total Class of 1977 50th reunion gift announced on reunion weekend. Also counting toward the total will be gifts and pledges classmates have made during the 50th reunion runup period toward other Williams priorities.

Active solicitation for the Gateway Initiative will begin later in 2026. Some classmates, however, have already given. If you are interested in discussing a reunion gift now, or if you have any questions, please contact either John Greer or Dennis O’Shea, our Reunion Gift Committee co-chairs. You may also contact Ryan Ford, director of milestone reunions at Williams.