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“You can give money, you can give time, or you can give both-but give.”
-Don McMurtry

"Pick Something That's Important to You and Support It"

Don McMurtry '86, '07 supports Rensselaer financially and welcomes the opportunity to do so. He also gives generously of his time and knowledge and sees this as having equal value to his monetary contributions.

Don, a computer science major who left RPI in 1986 a couple of courses short of a degree, worked for chemistry professor George Janz from his freshman year onward, designing Dr. Janz's computer database.

This experience served Don and RPI well. In 2006, he retired as the vice president for professional services at Research In Motion (RIM), creator of the BlackBerry wireless e-mail device. That same year, Don established the George J. Janz Fund for Undergraduate Student Research Support in Chemistry and now plans to endow the Janz Fund with a bequest.

"Dr. Janz took a kid at the end of his freshman year, trusted me and helped me develop my professional skills," says Don. "It meant a lot."

In 2007, Don received a bachelor's in interdisciplinary science from Rensselaer, completing his degree while an executive in residence at the Lally School. He travels to RPI from his home in Canada at least once a semester to bring "tangibility" to what students are learning in class.

"You can give money, you can give time or you can give both—but give," says Don. "A school's brand is a function of its quality. To build the brand—the quality—a school needs to attract great talent. That takes resources."

Don expresses hope that all alumni, "whether they are 22 or 82," will help RPI grow with their charitable gifts while helping its students grow by sharing the lessons they have learned in their careers.

"I chose to fund undergraduate chemistry research because it helped form me," says Don. "Pick something that's important to you and support it."

The information in this Web site is not intended as legal advice. For legal advice, please consult an attorney. Figures cited in examples are for hypothetical purposes only and are subject to change. References to estate and income tax include federal taxes only. Individual state taxes and/or state law may impact your results.

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