Benches Are Nice But Just Give Us Money

A growing number of colleges are recasting the tradition of senior-class gifts by encouraging their graduating classes to focus more on giving — preferably money the college can spend as it sees fit. Some schools, including Stanford University and Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., have offered donation programs for more than a decade. They're becoming more common as higher education budgets tighten and competition for charitable giving intensifies. School administrators and philanthropists say the goal is less about dollar amounts and more about cultivating a new generation of alumni givers. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-05-14-seniorclass_N.htm