Legacy graduate says giving is about today’s students

Supporting “Our Erskine” might mean introducing prospective students to Erskine, serving as a volunteer on Erskine boards and committees, or contributing to the Annual Fund. Scott Mitchell ’99 has experienced all three as giver, receiver, or both.

For Scott Mitchell of Alabama—whose family history includes a great-great-grandmother in the first graduating class of the Due West Woman’s College, as well as a grandmother and great-grandmother who were Erskine alumnae—it was a faithful Erskine volunteer, Jane Shelton Dale ’73, who actually brought him to Erskine for the first time. He was considering a much larger school, the University of Alabama.

His Erskine experience was memorable and rewarding, beginning with becoming friends with upperclassmen—there was not a designated residence hall for freshman men back then. After graduating from Erskine with a degree in history, he earned his law degree (at the University of Alabama) and later became Clerk of the Court of Criminal Appeals in his home state.

He is grateful for professors and administrators who became mentors, including President Emeritus Dr. Randall T. Ruble ’58 (Sem. ’61), who continued serving as a mentor when Scott was named to the Board of Trustees. A highlight of his time at Erskine was a trip to Europe led by history professors Dr. David Grier ’77 and Dr. Sandra Chaney.

Scott started making monthly contributions to the Annual Fund while serving on the Development Committee of the Board of Trustees several years ago. (Eventually he became vice chair and then chairman of the board.) He has been pleased with this method of giving and hopes some of Erskine’s younger alumni will adopt it.

“When you’re young, it allows you to give more,” he says. “You don’t notice losing $25 each month, and from a budget perspective, it allows you to plan better for your financial future while giving more over the course of a year.”

What message would Scott Mitchell share with Erskine alumni and friends?

“It’s not about the Erskine we knew when we were there as students,” he says. “It’s about supporting the students who are there today, making their own Erskine experiences!”