On Dec. 19, Uni alums Catherine (Class of '94) and George (Class of '95) Gruschow made a generous donation of $100,000 to Uni High. In the same week, Thomas Shedd (class of '37) passed away and left Uni a gift of between $100,000-125,000. The money has gone into two separate endowment funds; one for faculty compensation and another for instruction and curriculum improvement activities.

"[The Gruschow's] are very committed alumni from the 1990's," said Uni Director Jeff Walkington. "George Gruschow was very involved in setting up some of the first computers with [Chemistry teacher and Uni Assistant Director] Mr. [David] Bergandine."

This is the third large gift the Gruschows have made in the last five years. Their $200,000 donation in 2008 was used for technology, renovations, and other school needs. In 2009 they donated another $100,000. This time they wanted their donation to be used for a specific purpose; the John Hedeman Endowment.

"[The John Hedeman Endowment] is named after a former Uni Director and it is a way to honor his service [to Uni]," said Walkington. "All of the money that goes into it is collected and is invested and every year we get interest off that money. This money is divided up among all the teachers for salary enhancement."

The Gruschow's gift is the largest ever made to the Hedeman Endowment. It is raising the corpus of the endowment by 20 percent, up from $405,000 before the gift.

Also in December, Uni received notification that the school would be receiving a substantial gift from the estate of Thomas Shedd (class of '37.) The exact amount is undetermined, but Advancement Director Marianne Downey believes it will be between $100,000 and $125,000.

"...He was our oldest living alum," said Walkington. "He left it to the school and he wanted it to do with curriculum and instruction, the way we learn at the school."

Shedd's gift will establish an endowment in his memory for instruction and curriculum improvement activities. The exact uses of the funds and the distribution system have not been determined.