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picture of the Orams
Uni High Legacy Society Members

Richard Oram is a member of the Class of 1969 at the University of Illinois Laboratory High School. In 2018, Richard became a member of the Uni High Legacy Society which invites Uni High alumni who choose to give back in an extremely sincere form, through their estate plans.

After Richard graduated from the University of Illinois in 1973, he went on to complete his Ph.D. at Cornell University and later a Masters in Library and Information Science at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a former chair of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the American Library Association.

The Oram’s gift is the post-death gift of an investment and savings account. The beneficiary is the University of Illinois Laboratory High School. The fund provides student and faculty support to enhance and promote the excellence of teaching and learning at Uni High.

“My wife and co-donor, Conna (Urbana High ’68), said it best: “I really enjoy the Uni Reunions since your classmates are funny, quirky, and interesting” (for the record, I like her Urbana classmates as well). The Uni experience was unparalleled in providing me with a love of the sciences: chemistry—especially exploding substances—psychology, and biology. Math and physics made me stretch, although I was ultimately grateful for the intellectual work required. Dr. Ned Levy and Charlene Tibbetts were instrumental in laying the foundations for later graduate work in English and a career in special collections library administration. By naming Uni High in our will, we hope to ensure that the school will not only survive but persevere, and that it will always be there for every intellectually curious high school student in C-U who wishes to attend.”

Richard and Conna Oram hope their planned gift will influence others to give back in the form of their estate plan. Give the Foundation proper direction so that it will honor your intentions. Uni can help you specify your philanthropic goal to ensure your wishes are properly respected.