Center for Principled Problem Solving Receives $50,000 Gift
Nonprofit executive and Guilford College alumna Esther Hall has made a $50,000 cash gift to benefit the endowment for Guilford’s Center for Principled Problem Solving. The gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a challenge gift previously made by College trustee Dan Mosca and his wife Beth.
The Center for Principled Problem Solving challenges students, faculty and staff to solve real-world problems under the guidance of Guilford’s core values: community, diversity, equality, excellence, integrity, justice, and stewardship. The center invites speakers and organizes campus programming, and manages the Principled Problem Solving Scholars program.
Hall chose to designate her gift to the center because of its mission, and because the Mosca challenge gift will double her gift’s impact. “First, I love a deal and doubling my contribution was thrilling. Secondly, as a career non-profit gal I happen to think every decision is an act of principled problem solving just to keep our organizations afloat serving the folks who need our services,” she says.
Hall graduated from Guilford in 1974 with a sociology degree, and has enjoyed a long career in the nonprofit field. She is currently executive director of the N.C. Legal Assistance Foundation, which helps lawyers pursue careers in public service through educational loan repayment assistance. Hall has received numerous recognitions for her public service, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine and the Governor’s Award for Volunteerism. She lives in Raleigh.
Hall also has a long record of service to Guilford, most recently as president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, of which she is a life member. As part of her work with Alumni Association, Hall helped with student recruitment and retention by telephoning admitted students and organizing send-off parties for Raleigh-area Guilford students. Hall is a past chair of the President’s Club, which recognizes individuals whose annual fund gifts total $1,000 or more, and had previously served as Alumni Association Board president in 2003. She is currently a member of the College’s Board of Trustees.
“Establishing the $5 million endowment for the Center for Principled Problem Solving is a critical piece of Guilford’s Advancing Excellence campaign,” says Mike Poston, the College’s vice president for advancement. “Esther Hall’s generous gift is a critical step toward achieving that goal, and represents an investment in future Guilford students.”
