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Hampden-Sydney College has received two anonymous major gifts totaling $2.45 million.

A gift of $1 million will establish the Hinton Baxter Overcash Immersive Biology Laboratory in the new Pauley Science Center, which is expected to be completed by the fall of 2021.

Named in memory of the late Professor Overcash, a biology professor at the college from 1922 until 1965, the Overcash Laboratory will be a well-equipped, state-of-the-art research space where students conduct science research with and under the supervision of dedicated faculty scientists. The Overcash Laboratory will strengthen Hampden-Sydney’s ability to prepare students for top graduate programs, including those with which the college has graduate school agreements: Eastern Virginia Medical School, the George Washington University School of Medicine, the University of Lynchburg, and the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.

Inspired by Stanley Pauley’s $30 million transformational gift in September of 2019, which launched the construction of the Pauley Science Center, an anonymous alumnus made this $1 million gift to honor beloved Professor Overcash, whose notoriously exacting standards prepared many Hampden-Sydney men for careers in medicine.

“This new space recognizes and honors Professor Overcash’s legacy of effectively equipping his students with the knowledge and discipline necessary for careers in medicine,” President Larry Stimpert said. “A hallmark of the Hampden-Sydney education is the lifelong impact our faculty members and other mentors can have on our students. This gift recognizes the contributions of one specific faculty member, but it also pays tribute to the central role faculty members have in preparing Hampden-Sydney graduates for a lifetime of service and accomplishment.”

Additionally, a gift of $1.45 million will be added to the college’s endowment to provide funds for scholarships and will serve as a wonderful legacy that will help make a Hampden-Sydney education accessible for talented, high-achieving students regardless of their financial circumstances.

This gift for scholarship also satisfies the matching requirement of the college’s ongoing, four-year Carpenter Foundation challenge. As of December 31, 2019, the college reached the halfway point of this challenge, having raised $8 million and received $2 million in Carpenter grants for a total of $10 million in new scholarship endowment.

“Among our highest priorities is making the benefits of a Hampden-Sydney education accessible to any talented young man who wishes to attend. Thanks to the generosity of this alumnus, Hampden-Sydney is now more than a quarter of the way toward the current year goal of raising $4 million in scholarship endowment in order to receive an additional $1 million from the Carpenter Foundation,” Vice President for College Advancement Heather Krajewski said. “More importantly, this enduring gift of scholarship endowment will help make a Hampden-Sydney education possible for countless young men, strengthening the college in perpetuity.”