Sarah Herring ’66 supports FurmanWIN with $1 million gift

Sarah Herring ’66 H’01, a longtime supporter of Furman University, has made a $1 million gift in support of the Furman Women’s Impact Network.

With her donation, Herring is supporting FurmanWIN’s Endowed Fund, which provides scholarships, experiential learning opportunities and other student stipends.

“I see scholarships as the best way to seed for the future,” said Herring, whose late husband was Furman trustee emeritus Gordon Herring ’65. “It’s a win that goes far beyond what the dollars alone do.”

FurmanWIN organizes and engages all alumni to develop meaningful relationships with one another and the university. The group started in 2019 as 21 alumnae discussing how women in leadership and philanthropy could impact Furman’s trajectory. Since 2020, more than 1,300 alumni have attended 22 FurmanWIN events in more than seven cities, and FurmanWIN has raised $763,000 since 2021 for the endowed scholarship fund Herring’s gift will support.

“Sarah has always been a loyal and generous alumna to Furman University,” said Furman University President Elizabeth Davis. “Her gift to FurmanWIN is another example of her leadership and vision, by helping ensure more members of the Furman community have access to this important and necessary resource.”

Herring, a founding member of FurmanWIN, said she hopes her donation will encourage other FurmanWIN members to step up and support the endowed scholarship fund.

“My husband and I both had the benefit of being Furman graduates. We took pride in everything that we have been a part of, and Furman is always in our hearts,” she said. “It’s a blessing to me to be able to support our alma mater.”

While pursuing their degrees, Sarah and Gordon Herring were members of the Furman Singers. Their love for music and connections to the music department inspired them to give $1.25 million as the lead investment for the Nan Trammell Herring Music Pavilion in honor of Gordon’s mother, a 1929 graduate. They supported partner scholarships that aided music students, and in 2020 they pledged a $6.1 million gift establishing the Herring Music Chair Endowment and the Herring Music Fellowship Fund. Their generosity also extended to a $1.8 million gift for the Herring Center for Continuing Education and the Herring Faculty Chair for Asian Studies.

After graduating from Furman, Sarah went on to earn her master’s degree in German from Vanderbilt University and received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities in 2001 from Furman. She worked for 28 years in telecommunications, working with C&P Telephone, AT&T, Bell Atlantic and Verizon.

Sarah’s generosity has made her a member of Furman’s White Oaks Society and the Legacy Society, and she is a lifetime member of the Furman Singers Alumni Association Board.