The Perrys
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On the Cover: Lewis M. Warren Jr. '83 Lewis M. Warren Jr. '83, New York City chair of The Campaign for Old Dominion University, is one of more than 40 alumni across the country who have accepted leadership roles in the university's first capital campaign. In the coming months he will meet with fellow alumni in New York to encourage them to contribute to this $47.85 million fund-raising venture, which he believes to be a worthwhile cause. Warren himself has pledged $50,000 to the capital campaign. "I think what is so exciting at this moment in history for the university is that it dovetails so nicely with the end of this century," he said. "What this campaign is challenging Old Dominion to do is to provide the facilities for a university truly building itself into the 21st century." Warren, who earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Old Dominion, also holds M.B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Virginia. He is currently a director with Salomon Brothers in New York, one of the world's foremost investment banking firms and among the largest securities dealers in the world. A native of Chesapeake, Warren still stays in touch with many of his professors from Old Dominion. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the university in 1995. In describing his alma mater, Warren said Old Dominion is "a school that is not limited by ancient history, but is driven by the future." And he believes that a successful capital campaign will better enable the university to educate future students and meet the needs of the Hampton Roads region. "I would say there's no more compelling need in a community than to have a world-class institution." |
"Pat and I strongly believe that if you take from the system, you give back. The community has been good to us, and Old Dominion was good for my wife," Perry said. Pat Perry earned her bachelor's degree in clinical psychology as a nontraditional student. "I wanted to give something back to the university that had such an impact upon my life," she said. "I told my husband that someday I would find a way to give something in return for all the university did for me." Perry came to Old Dominion as the mother of three children. She said she decided to finish the education she had started in 1966 at the University of Maryland after one of her children, who was in kindergarten at the time, brought home a plaque he had made that said, "My mother makes pies. That's all she does." Perry knew she wanted to be remembered for more than that, and she soon enrolled at the university.
"Old Dominion validated my life. It was there that I learned I could become more than just a great chocolate chip cookie baker," she remarked. But balancing a family with a demanding academic load proved to be a challenge. She remembers, with gratitude, one particular instructor, a graduate teaching assistant, "who gave me the courage not to quit."
It had been years since her last math class, and Perry had little confidence in her mathematical abilities. But now she was facing college statistics, a course dreaded by many an undergraduate. She still has memories of Seth Zimmer's statistics class, a four-hour course required of all psychology majors. She would break out in hives from the sheer anxiety the exams provoked. "I hated math, I feared math, I was sure I couldn't do math," she said. "I was doomed." Perry recalls one particular exam. While her classmates had already zipped through the test, she was still "sweating bullets" over the third problem. "Seth leaned over my shoulder and said, "Take this exam to my office, Mrs. Perry, and leave it on my desk when you finish.'" His understanding helped her survive the class, and she ultimately received an "A" for the course.
Since her graduation with honors Perry has been actively involved in many community service programs. She is currently vice chair of The Governor's Board on Child Abuse and Neglect as an appointed citizen member. She is also a board member of the Virginia Congressional Awards and the United Way of South Hampton Roads. Perry served as vice president of the board of trustees for St. Mary's Infant Home from 1995-97 and was an appointed member of the First Lady of the Commonwealth Advisory Council in 1995-96. She also served on the board of the Virginia Stage Company from 1993-95.
And, just recently, Perry was appointed by Gov. George Allen to serve on her alma mater's Board of Visitors.
Gornto Family
From his graduation in 1956 until the time of his death, Albert Brooks Gornto Jr. was a major supporter of his alma mater in many ways. A leader in the Hampton Roads banking industry for many years, Gornto was in the first year of an unprecedented second appointment to the university Board of Visitors when illness forced him to step down. He died on Aug. 30, 1992.
Gornto's legacy to Old Dominion continues today, thanks to his wife, Barbara, and their children, Brooks and Sarah Gornto, Shane and Suzanne Gornto Parr, and Lynanne Gornto. With their generous contribution to the capital campaign, his memory and commitment will live on in the form of the university's new distance learning center.
Old Dominion broke ground this spring for the four-story facility, which will be named the Albert Brooks Gornto Jr. TELETECHNET Center. It is anticipated that the center, being constructed between the University Library and Batten Arts and Letters Building, will open in late 1998. The center will greatly enhance Old Dominion's leadership position in distance learning by allowing the university to expand its course offerings via satellite to classrooms throughout Virginia and beyond.
Barbara Gornto said she is pleased to be able to carry on her husband's tradition of support during the university's first capital campaign. "Old Dominion has always been a big part of my life."
The university presented Gornto and her family with the third annual Batten Award on May 16. Named in honor of Old Dominion's first rector, Frank Batten, and his wife, Jane, the award was created to recognize philanthropists who have assisted the university through significant financial support.
"Old Dominion was such a primary focus in my husband's life that I feel a real bond there," Gornto said. "He always saw the university as a real asset to the community, and he was especially proud of the stature it has attained throughout the region."
After earning his bachelor's degree in business administration as a member of the school's first four-year graduating class, Gornto, known as "Buck" to his friends, returned to his alma mater to teach business courses in the Norfolk Division's night school from 1958 to 1961. He served as president of the Alumni Association in 1962 and was on the Educational Foundation board from 1964 to 1974. Gornto served his first terms on the Board of Visitors from 1970 to 1978. He received the university's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1979.
The Gorntos' son, Brooks, received both a bachelor's degree and M.B.A from Old Dominion and is a vice president of a local wholesale company. Barbara Gornto, who attended Old Dominion, is currently a trustee of the university's Educational Foundation.
The Gornto family has a long history of regional involvement. In addition to their commitment to Old Dominion, Medical College of Hampton Roads, Norfolk Botanical Gardens, Norfolk Zoo and Virginia Marine Science Museum, the Gorntos are patrons of the arts. Beneficiaries of their support include the Virginia Symphony, WHRO, Virginia Stage Company, Virginia Opera and Chrysler Museum.
During his lifetime, "Buck" Gornto served on the boards of several civic, educational and charitable organizations in the region. A Norfolk native, he was instrumental in building the Sovran Financial Corp. into a major banking organization during his 35-year career in banking. He retired as chairman of NationsBank Corp.'s mid-Atlantic group of banks.
In 1996, Old Dominion established the Albert B. "Buck" Gornto Regional Service Award at its Founders' Day celebration to honor him posthumously for his leadership and commitment to both Old Dominion and the Hampton Roads community.
Gornto, who gave so unselfishly of his time, talents and financial support during his lifetime, will be remembered by this award and also by the TELETECHNET Center that will soon bear his name. His family's gift in his memory Ð a tribute to a special man Ð will help students for generations to come.
