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Edward Duffield Neill, who founded Macalester in 1874 as a place to educate leaders for the nation’s new frontiers, venerated the sense of tradition found in the best colleges in the East. Neill, who had already established public education at every level in the Territory of Minnesota, obtained a bell for his new private college. It was manufactured in 1855 and is believed to be the oldest bell in St. Paul. The bell received a permanent home when the Classes of 1927 and 1928 contributed the Bell Tower that now stands as a campus landmark.
For years, the bell has called the community together for convocations and official events. Its deep, clear tone reverberates across campus in a timeless summons to community.
Responding to the call of the bell is one of the first ways in which students learn to participate in the life of Macalester College.
The Bell Tower Society: Commitment and Leadership
Members of the Macalester College Bell Tower Society have participated in the life of the college in countless important ways. The Bell Tower Society exists to recognize their extraordinarily generous financial support in the form of outright gifts for current, capital or endowment purposes.
Membership in the Bell Tower Society is extended to living individuals whose giving to the college for current or capital purposes amounts to $100,000 or more in a given year. Membership is renewable each year (Macalester's giving year is June1 - May 31).
To support the college at this level is to exercise exemplary and steadfast leadership in the life of the college. These gifts make possible significant and tangible educational benefits such as student financial aid, faculty salaries, important educational programs, and facilities. Moreover, they inspire others to be generous in their own contributions.
Like the historic bell in its landmark tower, members of the Bell Tower Society, by their example, invite others in the community to participate more deeply in the life of Macalester College.
Tokens of Appreciation
Members of the Bell Tower Society will be recognized in such publications as the donor report and an annual Bell Tower Society roster which is located in the Weyerhaeuser Hall Lounge. Members will receive invitations to select events, including a trustee dinner each year, as well as a special President’s letter and use of the Alumni House.
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Membership in the Bell Tower Society is extended to living individuals whose giving to the college for current or capital purposes amounts to $100,000 or more in a given year.
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