Published originally in the spring 2009 issue of Berea College Magazine
A Kentucky couple has given Berea College the largest single gift it has ever received. The $10.7 million endowment from their estate will fund student scholarships.
Alfred M. and Mary Swain Wood were longtime Berea College donors until their deaths in 1997 and 2008, respectively. Alfred M. Wood, Acad’14, was born and raised in U.S. Rockcastle County, served in the Navy during World War I and World War II, and then worked as a sales executive with Proctor & Gamble for 39 years. Mary Swain Wood, originally from Henry and Boyle counties, was a children’s book representative. Together, the couple managed a cattle ranch in Oklahoma for more than 25 years.
They also donated $3.2 million to Berea’s St. Joseph’s Hospital, which hospital officials will use to pay for facilities and healthcare initiatives.