Our Donors & Their Gifts
Dorothy McCluskey and Wangari Maathai, the 2002 McCluskey Visiting Fellow for Conservation and a 2004 Nobel Prize recipient
Dorothy S. McCluskey '73 MFS
Dorothy McCluskey recalls, “I arrived at F&ES in 1970 as a young mother of three, only one year after Yale became a coeducational institution. My goal was to earn an MFS concentrating on environmental planning and water resources management, which I completed in 1973. Along with the excellent education that I was expecting, my time at F&ES brought other, unanticipated benefits.”
When Dorothy became acquainted with Yale Law School students who worked with the state legislature, she quickly saw the potential for environmental leadership through civil service. She went on to serve for eight years as an elected state representative, chairing the Environmental Subcommittee on Sale of Water Company Land.
As her career progressed, she became vividly aware of the impact that the School and the people she met while at F&ES had on her professional life. She comments, “I always knew that I would give back to the School.”
More than 10 years ago, she established the Dorothy McCluskey Visiting Fellowship to support leaders in conservation. As she grew increasingly impressed by the caliber of the leaders F&ES recruited, and the response of the students and faculty, Dorothy knew that she wanted to make sure the program would continue for generations. In 2001, and again in 2008, she added to her Fellowship through charitable gift annuities, which offered tax advantages immediately and income for her lifetime.
“I am so proud that McCluskey Fellows include two Nobel Peace prize winners among many other talented individuals. Knowing that this conservation program will continue at F&ES into the future brings me enormous satisfaction.”