A Tradition of Generosity: Lawrence Handler ’67 (BUS) Reflects on 58 Straight Years of Giving Back to UConn
3 min read
UConn has certainly seen big changes over the past 58 years, but at least one thing remains constant: Lawrence Handler ’67 (BUS) just keeps giving back. Handler made his first philanthropic gift in 1968 and as he says, “there’s been no reason to stop.”
In honor of National Philanthropy Month, Handler recently answered some questions about what inspires him to stay involved with his beloved University.
Why does UConn mean so much to you?
I just loved my four years at UConn. I’m originally a city boy from New Jersey and I had never lived away from home in my life. I arrived at UConn, and I looked at the rolling hills and the green grass and fell in love with the place.
I tried out for the marching band and within a week or two I made 100 friends. It was a great introduction to the University. I played the trombone in the marching band and the pep band and then in the alumni band for about 35 years and I retired from the Alumni Band when I turned 70 years old.
It was a special birthday. My wife passed away earlier that year, in 2014. My family decided to surprise me at homecoming while I was playing with the Alumni Band. They came from Alaska, Florida, New York, and New Jersey. I thought, “I’ll never top that,” so it became my retirement homecoming.
Why did you start giving to UConn?
It came from the love I had for the University. When I was 21, I started two years of an MBA program at NYU, and I had a research assistantship which paid 100% of the program. I had gotten married, and my wife worked for the telephone company, so we had a little money. I just wanted to donate to UConn.
Were you aware of this long giving streak?
I wasn’t keeping track of the streak. I just started giving and there’s been no reason to stop!
What motivated you to endow the Lawrence D. Handler CPA Scholarship Award in 2004?
I always had a close relationship with the accounting department. When I was working with Arthur Andersen in Hartford, I was selected to be the firmwide person for donations. So, I solicited people from all around Arthur Andersen worldwide to donate to the accounting program at UConn. And I got to know all the accounting department faculty and chairman and eventually I became a speaker in various UConn accounting programs.
I was with Remington Products Company and then it was sold. Rather than looking for another corporate job, I wanted to go back to something I had done earlier in my career and that was teach accounting. So, I was hired to teach MBA students at UConn. I did that for ten years and I absolutely loved it. The students were just fabulous at UConn. I felt that it was time to set up an endowment for accounting students at UConn who had a career path toward becoming a CPA because the CPA career had done wonders for me.
You also contribute to UConn Athletics? What is the inspiration behind that?
I’ve always been a sports fan but of course being in the pep band and the marching band I have of attended a lot of UConn athletics events. In four years at UConn, I missed one home game because I had the flu and couldn’t get out of bed. But I’ve kept up. I’ve been a Men’s Basketball season-ticket holder for about 40 years and Women’s for about 30 years, and a Football season-ticket holder going back to the days of Memorial Stadium in Storrs. I love UConn and I love sports, so they go together.
What advice do you have for potential donors?
Get into the habit of giving. My first donation was probably around $25 and the lifetime giving numbers just keep going up. Just start getting in the habit. It feels good to give back because the University has given so much to me.
