Anne Glenn and Rob Whitnell love Guilford College. It’s where the two started teaching 30 years ago, where they began dating shortly after Rob arrived at Guilford and eventually married under a canopy of oaks and maples on the quad, surrounded by friends and family, faculty colleagues and students, on a summer morning in 1996.

This week Anne and Rob announced another chapter to their love story. The two Chemistry professors will expand educational opportunities for students and faculty, through a gift of $1 million to the College over the next 10 years.

“Guilford is incredibly grateful for this remarkable gift,” says LaDaniel Gatling II, Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations. “The impact of a gift like this from Rob and Anne will be felt for years to come.”

The gift, the largest received by the College from current or retired faculty, will go toward supporting three academic departments that are dear to Rob and Anne – Chemistry, Computing Technology and Information Systems, and Health Sciences – as well as  Guilford’s Study Abroad program and academic programs in general.

Anne and Rob came to Guilford as Chemistry professors in 1992 and 1994, respectively. Their roles quickly expanded. Anne helped develop the College’s Health Sciences major and Rob helped start the College’s computing majors. He also led institutional research and information technology and services at one point.

As the couple started thinking about retirement down the road, they wanted to see how they might be able to support a College that has been a large part of their professional lives.

“These are programs that mean a lot to us and we want to make sure they have the support to flourish and grow stronger in the years to come,” says Anne. “The more we talked about it, the more it just made sense to us to give.”

Starting this year, Rob and Anne’s gift will support equipment replacement and upgrades, scholarships, student and faculty travel to professional meetings,  and accreditations and certifications for students, faculty and staff.

There will also be money allocated to support scholarships that will significantly lower the barriers for students with financial need to participate in study abroad and study away programs.

Another part of their gift will address other needs of academic programs that might arise over the next decade as determined by the Provost.

Rob says the gift came easily to the couple, but explaining why is a little harder. He says they’ve both enjoyed working closely with so many students over the years and the relationships they’ve built. “We want that experience for future Guilford students to be just as special while we’re here and after we’ve left,” he says.

“We are so intimately connected to this place,” says Rob, whose third-floor office in the Frank Family Science Center is next to Anne’s. “We’ve worked with so many wonderful faculty, so many great students. We’re grateful for the opportunities we’ve had at Guilford, and we’re happy to support those who will follow us.”