By Aden Sievert//
The Hodson Trust provided one final gift to Hood College before its termination on November 19, 2022.
The $2.3 million received by Hood College was its final annual gift from the trust and is to be used in the Hodson Science and Technology Center expansion project. The expansion is set to add 32,000 square feet of additional space, including a research center and trainer facility for the STEM programs.
The Hodson Trust was established in honor of Thomas Hodson in 1920 by his son Clarence Hodson and before its termination the trust benefitted four Maryland schools- Johns Hopkins University, Washington College, St. John’s College and Hood College.
After forming the trust Clarence Hodson and his wife Lillian Brown Hodson became interested in Hood after they had visited during a trip through western Maryland. After her husband’s death, Lillian continued the relationship with Hood where she served on the Board of Trustees from 1955 until her death in 1963.
The original Hodson Science Center in 1957 was named in her honor.
Hood’s first-ever gift from the trust came 87 years ago in 1936 according to Andrea Chapdelaine, Hood College president.
Their name is seen all over Hood’s campus in honor of the numerous gifts the trust has given to help Hood. The Beneficial-Hodson Library, science center, amphitheater and Hodson Auditorium are just a few of the spaces around campus that are named after the trust.
“Not every gift is recorded, so we know there is more than what were aware of, but our best estimate is it’s probably close to if not $100 million since 1936 in support of the college,” Chapdelaine said.
A majority of the money gifted to Hood has been used through the endowment and been a significant resource that allows Hood to provide scholarships and grants to students.
“The $2.3 million was kind of atypical… Most of the time I have been here it has been gifts to scholarships but because this was the last gift and that we are planning to do the renovation in the Hodson science center they did decide to go ahead and give that gift to the science center,” Chapdelaine said.
As the dissolution finalizes, the trust will split the remainder of its assets and distribute it among the four schools as one final gift from the Hodson’s.
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