Forever Friends Give Back to Furman

Susan Thomson Shi ’71 M’73 has meant a lot to Furman through the years. She served as a first-year advisor and student government officer as an undergraduate here. She’s an honorary doctorate recipient, former first lady and current member of the Board of Trustees. She has assisted with fundraising campaigns, held events across campus and started her own scholarships. And along with 14 very special women, Shi is more than all that put together.

She is part of a friend group that has withstood the test of time and one that is now immortalized at Furman University.

On October 21, the group of lifelong Furman friends were honored during a ceremony to name the Judson Hall entrance area of the Clarke Murphy housing complex the “Circle of Friends.” The former women’s residence hall space served as a hub of activity while the women were students at Furman from 1967 to 1972. It felt like the most fitting and significant place for them to honor after raising more than $600,000.

This Circle of Friends began their journey in 1967 and grew in the summer of 1972 when they gathered at a member’s family lake house on Lake Lanier. The core group included Shi, Linda Lanier ’71, Nancy Greyard Walker ’71, Karen Swanson Weidner ’71, Lynda Bowman Roberts ’72, Rita Bruner Brown ’72, Linda Powell Carroll ’72, Jan Dillard ’72, Cathy Cannon Hubka ’72, Jane Burson Kinkade ’72, Debby Turner Little ’72 Susie Brannon Smith ’72, Carolyn Corte Stafford ’72, Kay Pittman Sutton ’72, and Phyllis Davis Yoakum ’72.

Shi brought up the idea of collective giving to the group about three years ago. Since all of them had given to Furman in one way or another over the years, she believed that they could raise the funds it would take to name a space on campus after themselves. The only rule was that each person had to give something. It didn’t matter how much and no one inside the group would ever know how much each gave. They just had to give until they reached that goal.

It happened in 2024, and all that was left to do was come up with a name, a message for the plaque and a time they could all come together at Furman for a dedication. They postponed the dedication once so a member could finish chemotherapy for a cancer recurrence.

“There wasn’t a chance we were going to leave anyone out because of something like that,” Shi said.

On October 21 at 4 p.m., there they were, a circle of friends. Fifteen women who have been constants in each other’s lives through seven decades doing something life changing as one.

Want to explore collective giving to Furman with your friends or family? Contact Rebecca Bilott at [email protected].