Gettysburg College gets $14 million gift

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- A Gettysburg College graduate who died at age 104 bestowed $14 million on his alma mater, the largest gift in the school's history.

Dr. F. William Sunderman, who died March 9, directed that his bequest be used to establish a musical conservatory at the college. The gift includes his collections of antique violin bows and old musical scores.

Sunderman, who was Gettysburg's oldest alumnus until his death, was described by college president Gordon Haaland as a renaissance man who "embodied the idea of a well-educated, multitalented person."

Sunderman played the violin at Carnegie Hall; developed an antidote for nickel carbonyl poisoning and tested it on himself while working on the World War II Manhattan Project, which developed the nuclear bomb; and was one of the first doctors to use a crude form of insulin to revive a patient from a diabetic coma.

In 1983, he established the Sunderman Foundation for Chamber Music, which has presented more than 50 free concerts.

"Dr. Sunderman's vision is to provide talented students with comprehensive classical music instruction and performance training along with a high quality liberal arts education," said Charles Widger, chair of the college's board of trustees.

The gift could nearly pay the $27,000 annual tuition for one quarter of the approximately 2,300 students at the school, located 117 miles from Philadelphia.