Scholarship Grows From $10 Start

“Give what you can, not what you cannot,” says Michael Curry, B.S. ’77. What began with a $10 gift to The University of Baltimore in the late 1970s has become the Michael L. Curry Merit Scholarship Endowment, a philanthropic relationship that will impact the lives of students for years. The Curry scholarship has been awarded eight times to UBalt students with at least a 3.5 GPA. Curry’s generous commitment to his alma mater is the result of his belief that giving is a discipline, and saying thank you is the greatest gift of all.

As a student, Curry’s mentors helped him understand philanthropy. “I wrote handwritten notes to those individuals and organizations that gave me academic and athletic scholarships,” he says. “I said thank you at the beginning and at the end of the school year.”

Curry determined that giving back is a lifetime commitment and in 1999, joined the Turner Society by including UBalt in his estate plan. He also supports the University with his time and expertise. He has been a member of The University of Baltimore Foundation board of directors for 16 years, serving on every committee and as board chair. “I am loyal to UBalt because it has had a great impact on my life, and I want people to know how successful UBalt has been in changing the lives of students,” he says.

During his time as a UBalt student, Curry worked at local accounting firms. The UBalt campus extended beyond the physical parameters of the University; Baltimore City was his campus. He found UBalt to be a fun, eclectic, urban environment, and he applied what he learned to his summer jobs and internships, like one with Meals on Wheels. Curry also says that UBalt prepared him with the fundamentals. He is now a principal with the Vanguard Group, Inc.

Curry graduated from UBalt cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. A Junior Kelz scholar athlete, he was a member of UBalt’s defending Division II Men’s National Championship Soccer team (which was the first Division II collegiate soccer program in Maryland to win a men’s national championship). His love and commitment to soccer runs deep as both a coach and a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, where he has coached at all levels of U.S. soccer. “I know I am doing everything I can to do my part,” he says. “I live life the way I played soccer. I leave it out on the field, no regrets.”

Support UBalt and Join the Turner Society

If you would like more information about including UBalt in your estate plan or how you can join Michael Curry in the Turner Society, please contact Tara Mulligan at 410.837.6152 or tmulligan@ubalt.edu.