Beneficiary Designation Gift: UCR History Alumnus Helps Highlanders in the Humanities
Glenn De Hart '78 '84, dedicated his teaching career to helping young students - from elementary school through high school, and from the United States and beyond - succeed. Now, he is taking that dedication a step further to help Highlanders in need.
"It's the right thing to do," said De Hart about his giving to the University of California, Riverside. "It's really that basic for me."
In September 2021, De Hart named the University as a 30% beneficiary in his mutual fund portfolio and finalized a planned, or deferred, gift to UCR in the form of a bequest created through his estate plans. The bequest established three endowed funds: the Glenn De Hart Endowed Scholarship in the Humanities, the Glenn De Hart Endowed Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Humanities, and the Glenn De Hart Endowed Fund for Library Collections in the Humanities.
"I gave money because I think students need help," said De Hart, who initially set up a history scholarship in 2016 before broadening his support in 2021. "And it's about more than just money. It seems to me that today's students have a greater need for financial, social, and emotional support than I did as a student, and I needed help."
As a first-generation undergraduate student at UCR, De Hart qualified for Pell Grants and the university's work-study program, both of which gave him enough support to graduate with virtually no debt.
"I think that must be impossible today for kids to get grants and scholarships that give them a completely free ride," De Hart said. "Donating to UCR helps students graduate and supports the university infrastructure that helps them get there."
With its focus on students, his gift also supports the university's Beyond Brilliant student success initiative, UC Riverside's first fundraising initiative dedicated to student-focused priorities across the university.
"Students today think differently than when I was in school - they have so many more interdisciplinary options," he said, noting that his own UCR experience helped him grow in immeasurable ways. "I have tremendous faith in UCR students that they will be smarter and better in ways that earlier generations could never have dreamed."
De Hart, who was born in Detroit and moved to Southern California in 1964 at age 9, spent his first years in higher education at Mt. San Antonio College before transferring to UCR for his junior and senior years. Although he said it was challenging to transition from a semester to quarter course schedule, his confidence, hard work, and strong support system helped him find success as a Highlander.
"No one gets through life alone," he said. "Many people have helped me - from my parents and neighbors to friends and, sometimes, their parents. But UCR changed my life. When I went there, I really felt like I found my tribe - people with the same interests, and who were curious and goal-driven."
De Hart completed his bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as his teaching credentials, at UCR, and spent most of his career influencing young lives as a teacher in the Jurupa Unified School District. He also took his talents worldwide through opportunities with the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program.
"Living in other countries as a Fulbright teacher helped me think differently about people and the world - politics, religion, and society," said De Hart, who taught in Northern Ireland and the Czech Republic. "It helped me think more globally."
Throughout his career, De Hart admittedly didn't stay connected to campus, focusing instead on his professional and personal commitments. But now retired, he has found joy in reconnecting with his alma mater.
"I realized that I missed getting this input of what's happening in research and world events from people who are actually doing the work and not just reporting on it," he said.
Through his gift, he is also helping to perpetuate that work and research - and carrying on his legacy in education - by supporting Highlanders' studies in the humanities and strengthening research and enrichment opportunities for students in the Center for Ideas and Society and the Library.
"I want to support student interests and needs because, it sounds corny, but today's students are the future," De Hart said. "The world is getting more complicated, but I hope students continue to gravitate toward the things that really interest them. Because when they get excited about things and work together, they problem-solve in surprising ways - and we need that for them to make change."
Are you interested in learning more about the numerous options for making your own impact on the future with a deferred gift to UCR through your estate plans? Please contact us at (877) 249-0181 or [email protected] . We would love to help.
