Alaska Museum, Family Fund to Share $90-Million in Stock; Other Gifts

Elmer E. Rasmuson, chairman emeritus of the National Bank of Alaska, in Anchorage, has given a total of $90-million worth of bank shares to two groups: the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, and his family’s foundation, in Anchorage.

Mr. Rasmuson, 90, directed that $50-million go to expand the museum. Patricia B. Wolf, its director, said she estimates that construction on the new project will begin in 2002.

The Rasmuson Foundation is to receive $40-million worth of stock. Established in 1957 by Mr. Rasmuson’s mother, Jenny, the fund had assets of $8.2-million at the end of 1997. Diane Kaplan — the foundation’s lone administrative employee — said the gift will go into an unrestricted endowment. The foundation mostly supports capital projects for charities statewide.

Other recent gifts:

Central Wyoming College: $1,000,000 from John Buckner of Imperial, Neb., a professor emeritus at Washburn University of Topeka, to construct a dormitory.

Children’s Medical Center of Dallas: $1,000,000 from Bob Smith of Dallas, a pediatrician, to renovate the Residents’ Continuity Clinic, and for other improvements.

Converse College (S.C.): $3,000,000 from Carroll McDaniel Petrie of New York, whose late husband, Milton, founded Petrie Stores Corporation, to endow the School of Music.

Foundation for Jewish Camping (N.Y.): $2,000,000 from Robert Bildner of Montclair, N.J., president of RLB Food Distributors, and his wife, Elisa, president of its subsidiary, FreshPro, and their family, to establish and operate this fund that will award grants to Jewish camps located across North America.

Georgia Museum of Art, U. of Georgia: $1,000,000 from Mrs. M. Smith Griffith of Athens, Ga., an arts patron, for the second phase of the museum’s capital campaign.

Hebron Academy (Me.): $1,500,000 from an anonymous donor to endow faculty salaries.

Kentucky Wesleyan College: $1,850,000 from John W. Jones of Owensboro, Ky., president of Modern Welding Company, and his brothers, Leland and James Jones, for capital improvements.

Manhattanville College (N.Y.): $1,000,000 from Nancy Roberts King of Summit, N.J., a library fund raiser and philanthropist, to renovate the library and preserve its collections.

Marmion Academy (Ill.): $2,500,000 from an anonymous donor to endow scholarships at this college-preparatory school for boys.

Saint Peter’s College (N.J.): $1,000,000 from Charles Fiumefreddo of Bayonne, N.J., chairman of the Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Group, for scholarships.

Sweet Briar College (Va.): $5,000,000 from Nancy Hall Green of Atlanta, whose husband, Holcombe, is chairman of WestPoint Stevens, a textile company, to help construct a student center.

U. of Florida: $1,000,000 from Dempsey Sapp, Sr., of Lake Butler, Fla., founder of Florida Pest Control, and his wife, Margie, for a professorship in the department of entomology.

U. of Minnesota-Twin Cities: $1,000,000 from Cornelia W. Ooms Beck of Minneapolis, a former classics instructor at the university and widow of former professor Robert Beck, to establish a professorship in education.

Westover School (Conn.): $6,100,000 from an anonymous alumna for unrestricted use. Westover is a preparatory school for girls in grades 9 through 12.