Longtime Mary Baldwin supporters Anna Kate Reid Hipp ’63 and husband, Hayne, solidified their place among the college’s leading donors with an unrestricted $1 million pledge to fund “Invest and Innovate,” the next phase of Mary Baldwin’s strategic plan. The significant gift was announced to the college community today during college President Pamela Fox’s State of the College address, in which she detailed recent accomplishments and outlined future goals of the college in relation to its 10-year plan.
Consummate philanthropists and civic leaders in their hometown of Greenville, SC, the Hipps’ contribution provides five years of funding for key initiatives in the college’s strategic plan, Composing Our Future, which is quickly becoming the hallmark of Fox’s tenure. Those initiatives include increasing the Residential College for Women to 1,000 students with enhanced national recruiting for the one-of-a-kind Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership and Program for the Exceptionally Gifted as well as growing adult and graduate programs by 25 percent.
“Giving to Mary Baldwin, an institution that means so much to us, is not only rewarding but also a privilege. To give to a focus that will enhance and strengthen Mary Baldwin in the near future adds to the pleasure and excitement of being able to share our resources,” said Hipp, who served as national co-chair for the college’s significant Sesquicentennial Campaign.
Anna Kate Hipp, college classmate of the late Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Doenges ’63, is a regular donor and driving force for the Doenges Visiting Artist/Scholar series. She served 25 years on the Mary Baldwin Board of Trustees, gave the Commencement address in 1998, and has been honored with the college’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, Emily Wirsing Kelly Leadership Award, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
The annual State of the College address includes specific and newsworthy information about measurable outcomes and recent successes as well as defined goals for this academic year.