Cornell receives $1.5 million estate gift

MOUNT VERNON — Cornell College will establish endowed scholarship funds in music and politics with a gift of approximately $1.5 million from the estate of an alumna and former high school music teacher.

Dorris Board Hill, a 1943 Cornell graduate, died July 1 in her Muncie, Ind., home. She was 84. She was born in Cascade, graduated from Monticello High School and taught vocal music at Elkader High School.

“She grew up in a rural area, so it was an exciting opportunity in her life to be able to go on to college,” said her attorney, Mark Ervin of Muncie. “She realized what Cornell had meant in her life, and how her life had changed as a result of it. She had many, many fond memories of the time she spent at Cornell, of meeting (her husband) Bob.

“With her gift, Dorris was really looking to do something meaningful, something that would have an impact on lives beyond her own.”

While earning a degree in music education, she sang in choirs at Cornell and at her church. The endowed scholarship in music will bear her name.

The new endowed scholarship fund in politics will honor her husband, Robert Hill Jr., who died in 1999. Robert was from Oxford Junction, majored in history, politics and French, graduating from Cornell in 1947 after serving more than three years in World War II. In the mid-1950s the Hills moved to Muncie when he joined the faculty at Ball State University. He retired in 1990 from the department of psychological science. The Hills had two children, now deceased, and two grandchildren.

“We are pleased that a Cornell education had such an impact on Dorris Hill’s life. And we are grateful she recognized the power of such an experience for future generations of Cornell students, and she was willing to help make that possible with these endowed scholarship funds,” said Cornell President Les Garner.

This gift from the Dorris Hill Estate is part of Cornell College’s comprehensive campaign “Extraordinary Opportunities: The Campaign for Cornell College” which concludes in December 2009. The campaign seeks
to enhance the Cornell experience by increasing the college’s endowment, upgrading its facilities, and enhancing the academic program.

For more information about the campaign or making a gift, please visit www.cornellcollege.edu/campaign