Gifts in Action - Don and Frances Buske

MEET THE BUSKES

Don Buske and his wife, Frances, are both graduates of the Urbana-Champaign campus. Don also served on the Alumni Association board for 9 years. “We wanted to do something worthwhile for the University some day, because the U of I played a big part in our lives as students and later on,” said Don, who is retired from Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “We seemed to always be doing something that was connected with the Alumni Association.” The Buskes learned of the plans for an alumni center and supported the need for such a building on campus. So the couple made the decision to contribute to the center

HOW THEY GAVE

Their gift resulted in the Buske Communications Suite that will house the offices that support Alumni Association communications for the Urbana campus and the organization as a whole.

WHY THEY GAVE

Don described the prospect of alumni supporting the facility as a once-in-our-lifetime opportunity to do something really worthwhile. “I think an alumni center has universal appeal to everyone who graduated or attended.”

WHAT DON BUSKE SAYS

About their contribution Don said, “We’re really excited about it. We’re doing the kind of thing we always hoped we would eventually be able to do. I think [the Alice Campbell Alumni Center] is going to be one of the key locations on campus. Having worked with the Alumni Association they do such a fantastic job of staying in touch with people.”

Story courtesy Illinois Alumni magazine.