Impact Stories

As chair of the Admission and Financial Aid Committee of the Board of Trustees, Alex Buckley Voris knows better than most the importance of scholarship funding to sustaining Lawrenceville's commitment to a culture based on excellence. Her support of scholarship aid through the Buckley Scholarship Fund has made her the School’s most generous alumna.

Established in 2014, the fund not only pays the tuition for students with significant financial need, but it also ensures they have an opportunity to engage in an enriching summer experience without sacrificing the income they might earn from a needed summer job. Since its inception, the fund has made a material impact on the lives of 14 outstanding young people, with seven currently enrolled. Alex's commitment to providing exceptional educational opportunities to Lawrenceville's most deserving students is built on the power of partnership and a feeling of responsibility for giving back. She made her first gift to Lawrenceville as a graduating Fifth Former and has been giving ever since.

Lawrenceville's mission—to inspire the best in each to seek the best for all—speaks to the vital role of our school and its potential to both transform individual lives and have a powerful impact on the world," says Alex. "The chance to help strengthen our capacity to recruit and enroll the most dynamic, talented kids we can find is incredibly exciting to me."

The inspiration for the latest investment in Lawrenceville by Martin Gruss '60, and his wife, Audrey, began 3,000 miles from campus. The School was studying a plan for a dedicated makerspace and innovation hub, a major step forward in the vision for experiential education and hands-on learning presented in Head of School Steve Murray’s strategic plan. In January 2017, Lawrenceville's Board of Trustees traveled to California’s Silicon Valley for innovative ideas.

A trustee emeritus, Martin had more than passing interest in the topic. The School administration was envisioning a program rooted in S.T.E.A.M. learning, the deliberate intersection of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. Martin and Audrey are avid art collectors, and had earlier funded the construction of the Gruss Center of Visual Arts at Lawrenceville and the Gruss Sculpture Garden, among other gifts to the School. They were intrigued by the possibilities a makerspace offered for expanding the creative potential of students across multiple disciplines and impressed by their visits to San Francisco's Autodesk Gallery, Google, and the Stanford Design School.

The Gruss Center for Art and Design (GCAD), a 15,000-square-foot creative design center and makerspace, opened in February 2020. Linking the Hutchins Galleries on one side with the existing art studios on the other, this massive rebuild has given Lawrenceville students a state-of-the-art workspace for everything from metal sculpture, to computer-assisted design and construction, to robotics.

Martin and Audrey were involved in the project from beginning to end, and their hands-on commitment is reflected in the aesthetics and functionality of this hands-on facility. GCAD is at the center of a revolution in experiential education at Lawrenceville, and its impact is only beginning to emerge.

No single gift—or individual donor—embodies the Campaign theme of "transformation" more than Joe Tsai.

Today Joe is executive vice chairman of Alibaba Group, the Chinese e-commerce giant he co-founded, and owns the Brooklyn Nets (NBA), the Barclays Center, the San Diego Seals lacrosse team, and the New York Liberty (WNBA). But he came to Lawrenceville as a 13-year-old from Taiwan who spoke little English and worked hard to find his place. The next five years would be filled with defining moments, fueling his passion for athletics and teaching him the importance of humility and perseverance in achieving success.

Joe’s academic prowess took him to Yale undergrad, Yale Law School, and turns in corporate law and private equity, but it was athletics that gave him a sense of place. He says of his early days at Lawrenceville, "I figured if I wanted to be more a part of the community, I would need to participate in sports." He found his place on the field and the court, playing varsity football and lacrosse for Big Red and House basketball for Cleve.

The Tsai Field House, which will incorporate the Tsai Commons for dining, will provide a unique venue for Lawrentians to gather as teammates, fans, and dining companions, extending the camaraderie of House life and Harkness learning. The combination of team sports, recreation, and dining is deliberate. A gift from Joe and his wife, Clara, through the Joe & Clara Tsai Foundation, Tsai Field House will be the only facility of its kind at an independent school.

"Lawrenceville is about the inspiration you draw from the sense of community here," says Joe. "When cultivated, it’s a gravitational pull that yields a life-changing experience."

Morgan Dever Morris dove in head first when she arrived at Lawrenceville and has been doing much the same for The Lawrenceville Fund, the School's annual giving vehicle, since graduation. A swimmer, dancer, and rower, she immersed herself in everything from academics to Big Red athletics to the arts. She went on to Princeton and a successful career in finance, and she credits the School with making her path possible.

"Lawrenceville was the launching pad for both college and the rest of my career," she says.

Morgan is enthusiastic about giving back and invites others to join her. Many of her gifts to The Lawrenceville Fund over the years were designated to Athletic Programs and Facilities, and her support has grown as her career has progressed. Her most recent gift was directed to Equity and Inclusion initiatives. A Class Agent and member of the Alumni Association Executive Committee, she encourages others to support the Fund, which provides for a wide range of immediate School priorities, with any amount they can.

The bonds Morgan formed with friends, faculty, and coaches have stayed with her and deepened over the years. "That has meant the world to me," she says. "It's important to support the School. Lawrenceville is still giving to us, well beyond the gates."