From the May 2010 issue of Our Moment, the UConn Foundation's e-newsletter.
Wendy Reeves Watkins ’74 has devoted much of her life to giving back, including decades as a donor to support UConn.
“My family is very supportive of a few organizations, including our church, our community and our schools. It’s something we believe you just do, which was drummed into us when we were growing up,” she says. “So it’s logical to extend that to UConn, where I had such a wonderful experience.”
Watkins, who joined the UConn Foundation’s Board of Directors in October 2009, says that her education in the School of Business prepared her well for a career in accounting and banking. Her first job out of UConn was with Arthur Andersen & Company, where she also met her husband, Tom Watkins.
“For a new graduate, getting job offers from the leading accounting firms, and ending up at Arthur Andersen in Washington, D.C., well, I knew it couldn’t really get much better than that,” she says. “I’ve tried to give back since then; I believe I’ve contributed to support UConn every year since graduation, as a way of saying thanks to the University that got me here.”
Watkins’s contributions have been constant and significant; she has now cumulatively donated or pledged approximately $600,000 to support the School of Business and the University.
In addition to her service on the Foundation’s Board of Directors, Watkins has been an active volunteer in several Chicago-area organizations.
While at UConn, she was active in Pi Beta Phi, serving as the sorority’s president her senior year, was the business manager of the Daily Campus and was actively involved in the accounting department, which she says was in some ways a different world from what students today experience.
“We had an accounting class of about 100. Everyone knew everyone else. We had great professors, like Dick Kochanek, whom I’ve stayed in touch with over the years. I think he’s a wonderful example of the kind of first-rate faculty at UConn who make a difference in the lives of their students; in Dick’s case, over generations of students," she says. "When I went back to Storrs a few years ago, I was amazed by the literal transformation of the campus. And obviously, the School of Business has grown considerably in ranking and stature.”
Because Watkins has lived outside Connecticut since she graduated from the University, she hasn’t always been able to stay involved with UConn as much as she would like. Her election to the Foundation’s board in 2009 gives her new insight into the future direction of the University.
“With our campaign, we have the ability to take UConn even higher. I believe that the goal of becoming a top-20 public research university is in our grasp, and it will require the entire community to get behind us,” she says.
Her hopes for the impact of her own giving is similarly visionary.
“I hope that my contributions made a difference by enabling the school to recruit and retain faculty it otherwise couldn’t, or offer scholarships to students who wouldn’t be able to attend UConn otherwise,” she says. “When I attended UConn, a public university didn’t really have to rely on donors for these things. But today, schools of UConn’s caliber have needs that can’t be met by just tuition or public support; donors are key to our success. I’m glad to be able to do my part.”
For more information about supporting the School of Business, please contact the UConn Foundation’s development department.
