But then UNH chose to allocate only $100,000 to the library, $2.5 million to a career center, and $1 million to a new video scoreboard at the football stadium, The Washington Post reported.
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A University of New Hampshire librarian, who spent a lifetime living frugally, surprised the school by donating his entire estate – worth $4 million.
Last month, the university announced that it was the unexpected recipient of a multimillion-dollar donation left behind following the death of a longtime employee, Robert Morin, who worked at the campus library for almost 50 years. Despite being asked many times over many years by his financial advisor it was Mr. Morin’s firm decision to designate only a small portion of his estate to the library and to leave the rest unrestricted for the university to use as it saw fit.
Staff at Dimond Library referred all comment to Mantz. University officials have also pointed out that Morin specifically did not give them instructions on how to spend most of his gift, except for the $100,000 for the library, trusting them and their priorities.
UNH Director of Media Relations Erika Mantz defended the school’s decision in a statement Friday.
“I’m so impressed with his commitment to UNH, both in his years of service as well as this donation”, one person wrote on the school’s Facebook announcement about the bequest.
“Did you hear about the scoreboard?” The 11,015-seat venue cost $26 million and hosted its first game Saturday.
A New Hampshire native, Morin was known for his affection for movies and books; according to his obituary, his job entailed writing short descriptions of DVDs, entering CDs into the library system, and cataloging “book after book of sheet music”. In a statement, university spokeswoman Erika Mantz said Morin enjoyed watching football while staying at an assisted living center in the a year ago of his life.
His financial adviser Edward Mullen told the Union Leader Morin “never spent any money”, drove an old vehicle, and ate frozen dinners.
“I just think people go to school to learn and to be educated, and that’s what he spent his life dedicated to”, she said.
Tammy Simmons: $1 million for a scoreboard. yep, that’s UNH spending the money wisely for the students.
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Morin, according to his obituary, started working at the library in 1965 as a cataloger. He requested that there not be a public service for his funeral; he was buried in the family plot in St. Louis Cemetery in Nashua.
