Colgate University announced today that the estate of John T.C. (Cuy) Low ’39 has made an additional gift of $5.2 million to the Jeanie and Cuy ’39 Low Endowed Scholarship Fund, raising its total value to more than $7 million and expanding its impact on current undergraduates.
“Almost a decade after his passing, Cuy Low’s foresight and philanthropic planning put him among the University’s most generous contributors,” President Brian W. Casey said. “His legacy lives on through his support, assisting us with the No-Loan Initiative and advancing an important part in Colgate’s Third-Century Plan.”
Colgate launched the No-Loan Initiative in May as a first step in the Third-Century Plan, a long-term framework for the University’s success. Under the initiative, Colgate will remove all federal loans from financial aid packages for students with family incomes below $125,000 beginning with the Class of 2024. Support from endowment funds like the Lows’ and gifts to the Colgate Fund make it possible.
The Low endowment began providing support for students by the mid-1990s, thanks to gifts he made during his lifetime. With Low’s passing in 2010 at the age of 91, Colgate received an initial $1.8 million from his estate, and that amount was increased by $5.2 million on Colgate Day, Sept. 13.
Per Low’s request, proceeds aid students in financial need who seek to study English literature. Remaining funds support any students who qualify for financial aid.
Low was an estate attorney who worked with firms like Davis, Polk & Wardwell and Dewy Ballantine in New York City before moving to Jackson, Miss., in 1972 and establishing his own firm — Low & Furby — in 1983. With the proceeds from his life’s work, he built an estate that lives on in Colgate students who follow in his footsteps as they climb the hill.
“When Cuy first imagined this scholarship, Colgate’s third century was decades away,” said Andrew Coddington, associate vice president of institutional advancement and director of planned giving. “Yet, because of his forethought and planning, he is playing a part in launching the Third-Century Plan, aiding his alma mater as it advances boldly into the future. We thank him and celebrate his memory.”
