Honoring One, Inspiring Many

Jim Griffiths P'88. The name may not be familiar yet, but it will.

In his own quiet way, he is a man of influence. A businessman and a devoted family man, Jim Griffiths is "an intellectual who immerses himself and challenges himself every day." So says his daughter, Hartwick Trustee Sally Griffiths Herbert '88. "My dad's the most creative and innovative person I know; I love the way his mind works," she says, adding, "I'm really proud of being a Griffiths."

Sally's husband is equally enthusiastic. "Jim is a very curious person, a true problem solver," Tim says. "He wants to know how everything works."

These sound like the traits of a natural innovator and entrepreneur. And so when President Margaret L. Drugovich P'12 asked the Herberts for a major gift in support of collaboration and innovation at Hartwick, they didn't hesitate. "Tim and I accepted the opportunity to nourish and develop this approach at Hartwick—to make innovation a priority, put it on a pedestal, and really draw attention to it," Sally says. "Then we turned it into an opportunity to celebrate the individual that is my dad."

The Herberts' tribute gift is a $1.25 million investment in outside-the-box thinking and programming at Hartwick College. President Drugovich calls the couple's generosity "extraordinary, and an inspiration to us all."

The Griffiths Center for Collaboration & Innovation is the umbrella for Hartwick's Makerspace in Stevens-German Library, a planned Entrepreneurship Hub (e-Hub) in Golisano Hall, the new Fabrication (Fab) Lab in Anderson Center for the Arts, future Innovation Stations across campus curricular innovations spearheaded by the faculty.

"These important initiatives are designed to encourage cross-disciplinary thinking that will help us meet our educational mission to inspire curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking," says the President. "We are indebted to Sally and Tim for this latest expression of their confidence in and commitment to Hartwick."

"Our ultimate goal is to strengthen the College," explains Tim of the couple's investment, "and to contribute to what kids these days need and want. Learning to innovate and collaborate are some of the most marketable skills today. The liberal arts boil down to this."

The Herberts have also included the College in their estate plans—further cementing their legacy of learning at Hartwick College.

To learn about how you can contribute to innovative and collaborative initiatives at Hartwick, please contact Patricia Dopazo at dopazop@hartwick.edu or 607-431-4020.