Russell Barbour '66 Gives to Friends Select, the School That Changed His Life
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In 1965 Russell Barbour entered Friends Select School as a junior, after facing racial intolerance from both students and teachers at his former high school. Friends Select felt like a wonderful change, imbuing Russell with much-needed confidence. "The school taught me that I was not an inferior being," he says. "I could do anything."
What followed was a fascinating and varied career, taking Russell from diplomacy to ecology to applied mathematics. Now a co-director for Interdisciplinary Research Methods at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at Yale, Barbour has decided to make a planned gift to the future of Friends Select School.
The individual attention Russell received from Friends Select teachers thoroughly influenced him. He credits teacher Margaret Sheets with teaching him how to write and teacher Jeanine Wagner for giving him a love of the French language. The lessons he learned in Jeanine's classes carried him through three semesters abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris and later to the U.S. embassy in Madagascar, where he aided American wildlife conservation researchers and became interested in ecology.
In his current position in biostatistics, Russell describes himself as "a troubleshooter," focusing on areas of question in epidemiological studies of HIV and hepatitis risk and transmission dynamics. Looking back, he believes the seeds of his leap from ecology to statistics and HIV research were planted in the interdisciplinary nature of his Friends Select education. "I would say that Friends Select's wholistic view—not looking at subjects in isolation—really has informed a great deal of my work."
To give back to Friends Select, Russell chose to establish a charitable gift annuity (CGA), a program that benefits both Friends Select and, through tax benefits and regular payments, the donor. Managed through Friends Fiduciary Corporation, CGAs begin with donations of $10,000 or more where the donor obtains an income-tax deduction during the year of giving. In the years that follow, the donor will receive guaranteed, partially tax-free payments for life, after which the remainder of the gift is transferred to Friends Select.
Russell's decision to give this way was partially practical; the program allows him to invest over several years and will bring him income and benefits throughout retirement while simultaneously helping the school. However, it is also deeply personal. Russell's commitment to nonviolence was inspired by his Friends Select education, and he believes institutions that emphasize nonviolence need support, especially in the current political climate.
He also cites the respect Friends Select teachers show for their students. "High expectations combined with a willingness to help was the strength of my education at Friends Select," he says. "It's a privilege to be able to support the school in this stage of my life."
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