Paul Howland '50

When Paul Howland '50, did his Independent Study on the life and jurisprudence of Chief Justice John Marshall, most Wooster students had to confine their research to the resources available on campus. Not so today. The Henry J. Copeland Fund for Independent Study, established by the Board of Trustees to honor Wooster's ninth president, provides grants that allow students to travel to major libraries, museums, and laboratories across the country to conduct in-person interviews with key figures in their area of study or to purchase necessary supplies or equipment. This year the fund awarded more than $97,000 in competitive grants to 141 students.

So when Paul began to think about doing something significant for Wooster, he focused on the impact I.S. had on him and so many other Wooster students. He and his wife, Lois, decided to create a two-life charitable gift annuity to support the Copeland Fund.

The charitable gift annuity is one of the simplest-and popular-life-income plans. In exchange for a transfer of cash or marketable securities, the College contractually guarantees to make specified annuity payments for life to you or those you designate.

A true liberal arts graduate, Paul is still learning. He and Lois love to travel, and since retiring from a career as a personnel manager with several government agencies, including the IRS, he has taken dozens of courses at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where they live.

"Lots of history courses, lots of religion courses," he says. "I even took a course on opera. Never thought I'd like it-and I still don't-but the guy who taught it was a show all by himself."