Although Margot Bair Biery returns to Findlay only once every couple of years, she always makes a point of visiting Old Main, the signature building on the campus of The University of Findlay.

“I always stop in at Old Main when I’m back. A million years ago, my mother took us to Old Main every time we visited Findlay. I think there is a brick there with Grandfather Bair’s name on it,” she said.

And to honor her mother and grandfather, Biery established the Bair Family Scholarship Endowment Fund at The University of Findlay after her mother’s death in 2001. Her charitable gift annuity of $50,000 to UF came through a trust from her late mother’s estate, establishes an endowed scholarship for Findlay students and provides Biery with a life income from her gift.  In 2006, Biery also named UF as one of two charitable beneficiaries of her 403b retirement plan.  This additional gift is designated to the Bair Family Scholarship Endowment Fund as well.

Biery explained that, when her mother, Helen (Bair) Biery, passed away, she wanted to use some of her estate to give back to UF because it had been such an important part of her mother’s family.

“My mother’s father, William Aaron Bair, was a professor there,” she said. “My mother’s estate had taken care of her, and we (Biery and her sister) split the rest. I had planned well for my future, so I thought this was a good way to honor my mother’s family. I wanted to make sure the Bair family stayed a part of the Findlay tradition.”

Her grandfather was also a 1922 alumnus of then-Findlay College and received a master’s degree from The Ohio State University in 1927 and a doctoral degree from the University of Southern California in 1937. He taught mathematics, history and education at Findlay from 1921-1943.

The family tradition of teaching at the college level is something that Biery continued. She earned a master’s degree in German from Smith College for work done at Universitat Hamburg, an MBA in accounting from the University of North Texas and a master’s degree in economics from Texas Christian University. Currently, she teaches online economics courses for Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas.

Biery noted that she was the beneficiary of a full-tuition scholarship to Smith College and felt this was a very positive way to contribute to UF. “I went to school myself on a scholarship, and I’ve always been very grateful to the Smith alumnae who made those funds possible,” she said.

Both Biery’s mother and aunt, Margaret (Bair) Whisler, graduated from then Findlay College, in 1933 and 1931, respectively. Biery’s mother served as a home economics teacher in Marsailles, Ohio, after graduating from college and returned to school in the 1950s to earn her master’s degree in education with an emphasis in Latin. She taught Latin in Kansas City, Kan., from 1958 until her retirement in the mid-1970s.

The strong family connection, combined with her appreciation of scholarship funds she received from Smith College, made the decision an easy one for Biery.

“My grandfather was extremely happy there, and my mother has the fondest memories of the place. It was part of the family tradition to visit there when we came back,” she explained. “I wanted to do something to honor my morhter. Academics were always very important to her. Findlay was just part of the family.”