Giving – and Giving Back:
Christine Warner

When alumni make a gift to Denison, they frequently say they are doing so in order to "give back" something for the experiences they themselves had while students. It's a common explanation, and none the less noble for being true.

While many can give voice to these sentiments, few can act on them as handsomely as has Christine Warner, a 1952 alumna who recently set up trusts whose income, earmarked for faculty support, will produce a potential income of more than $10 million over the next several years.

Already, Denison has created two John L. and Christine Warner Endowed Professorships. These are rotating positions, honoring some of Denison's most distinguished faculty. In March, Professor N. Daniel Gibson (Physics and Astronomy) and Professor Mary Tuominen (Sociology/Anthropology) were named to the positions.

"Christine's gift comes at a wonderful time, when we are deliberately attempting to grow the faculty," said Denison President Dale T. Knobel. "Our strategic priorities include increasing the number of faculty so that we increase the opportunities for one-on-one mentoring. It also keeps us true to the Denison ideal of forging relationships between students and faculty that last for a lifetime."

Mrs. Warner, a longtime Newark-Granville resident who says she made her commitment "on behalf of the youth of our community," acknowledges that Denison's faculty had a major impact on her. Coming to Granville from rural Kansas, she said her professors helped open her eyes "to a whole new world." Professing a life-long interest in church music, she credits Denison music faculty Karl Eschman and Brayton Stark with providing encouragement. And her love of language was fostered by the teaching of legendary English Professor Danner Mahood.

This gift from Mrs. Warner marks the second-largest donation in the institution's history from a single individual. It will bring lasting benefits to future generations of students because while the faculty positions are to be filled immediately and paid for with a portion of the income from the trust, another portion of that income will be set aside yearly to build an endowment. Thus, when the term of the trust comes to an end, there will be an endowed fund large enough to generate income to maintain the faculty positions.

Generosity writ large — Mrs. Warner's gift to Denison is only one of three major commitments she recently made. She has put into trust assets to benefit Denison, the Licking County Family YMCA, and the Ohio State University-Newark Campus/Central Ohio Technical College. Additionally, her husband, John Lindstrom Warner '50, who died in 2002, had already begun funding a new library at The Ohio State University-Newark/Central Ohio Technical College. So the Warner legacy of philanthropy in Licking County is substantial.
 

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