Reading Matthew Vassar’s will

Upon his death in June 1868, Vassar College Founder Matthew Vassar left the College approximately $275,000 to be invested, with the income being devoted to specific purposes: $50,000 for a lecture fund; $50,000 for an auxiliary fund, the purpose of which was to provide merit scholarships; $50,000 for a library, art and cabinet fund, created for the "preservation and enlargement of the library, art gallery and cabinets;" and, finally, $125,000 was to be put toward a repair fund, which would be devoted to the maintainence and expansion of the campus.

It is difficult to understand the magnitude of Vassar's donations in today's U.S. dollar. This figure can vary depending on the statistical methods used. Using one indicator, Vassar's legacy would be valued at about $4,296,685.41 in 2008 dollars, but only at $3,887,037.85 using year-to-year estimates from the Consumer Price Index.

Regardless, one thing is clear: Vassar left a lot of money. And upon the initial investment of this money, the College gained a large return—about seven percent each year, according to John Howard Raymond, Vassar's second President.

Given the sheer amount of money involved, one has to ask: Were Vassar's dying wishes granted?

In a word, yes. At the time of Vassar's bequest, the College pooled funds from Vassar and other donors to create the College endowment, which still funds the College today. However, as with other restricted gifts, the income from Vassar's funds was and continues to be directed toward those purposes delineated by Vassar in his will. Renowned writer and activist Angela Davis, for example, delivered 2009's Matthew Vassar Lecture. And Matthew Vassar's Auxiliary Fund, the very first scholarship fund, is listed in the 2009-2010 College Catalogue alongside those started by other members of the College community.

Vassar intended the provisions of his will to reflect his hopes for the College. Indeed, we can see that all of the provisions left in Vassar's will remain a celebrated part of College life: with a need-blind policy in place and 58 percent of students receiving need-based aid, according to administrators, the College has affirmed its strong commitment to financial aid; accomplished individuals of all stripes are regularly brought to campus to lecture; and there are a variety of academic resources available to students through the library. As to Vassar's fund for general repairs: The campus has expanded considerably since Vassar's time, and, despite a few minor complaints, is in good condition.

Of course, seeing Vassar's hopes for the College carried out requires time and a lot more money than Vassar himself could give. As Dean Emeritus of the College Colton Johnson wrote in an e-mailed statement, "To take just one of the aims of Vassar's specified gifts, financial aid in the contemporary sense was slow to evolve, even at Vassar."

Johnson pointed to "A College for Women, in Poughkeepsie, N. Y.," a booklet written by Raymond, which documents the first seven years of the College's operation, and which is available on the online Vassar Encyclopedia. In it, Raymond describes the lack of scholarship aid available to Vassar students at the time; he notes that in the College's first seven years, only one other person besides Vassar himself created an endowed scholarship fund.

This situation improved over time, of course. Johnson wrote about later efforts to secure scholarship aid for Vassar students, including those of Vassar's fourth president, James Monroe Taylor, who "frequently appealed to alumnae groups for scholarship money." He also mentioned the Vassar Aid Society, which was founded by alumnae in the 1890s. By 1916, Vassar President Henry Noble MacCracken was able to brag that "…Vassar College awards more scholarships than any institution of its numbers, so far as I know, nearly $30,000 a year being awarded out of college endowments for the education of over 200 girls."

Still, Johnson admits—and few would disagree—that "[MacCracken's] data seemed a bit underwhelming by today's standards." Financial aid in the sense that we understand it, in terms of its magnitude and packaging, didn't really begin until the institution of federal financial assistance programs.

Being now so far removed from the time in which Vassar lived, it is difficult to say whether Matthew Vassar himself would agree that the achievements of subsequent generations have carried out his wishes to a tee. But Raymond, who knew Vassar personally, had the following to say about Vassar's wish: "It was the hope of the Founder that, if the institution should prove a success, …other benefactors would arise to carry out the work he began by...augmenting the resources of the institution."

In which case, it seems safe to say that our Founder would be fairly proud of what he—and we—have created.