Cheers burst from enthusiastic Tuck School of Business students filling the center floor and the balconies of Whittemore Hall as a $4,000 bid was offered for a deep-fried Cajun turkey dinner at Thursday night's Tuck GIVES Auction, staged to fund non-profit summer internships for first-year Tuck students.
The funds raised by the auction "allow students to not have to choose between financial imperatives and doing something they're really interested in," according to Tuck student David Lee, who received funding for a non-profit internship last summer in Chile.
"The goal is to turn out socially responsible managers. Exposing students to the non-profit sector does this and allows students to build bridges later between their corporate lives and the social sector," said Patricia Russell, president of the Tuck Non-Profit Club and co-chair of the event.
This second-annual auction drew excitement and high bids from the Tuck community, including $3,000 for a four-night stay at professor Robert Howell's mansion and a $3,200 bid for a week-long vacation in Jamaica.
The student chairs of the event -- Patty Russell, Gretchen Moore and Joseph McKown -- were all pleased with the results of the auction, which earned nearly $60,000.
Moore, a second-year Tuck student, had low expectations for the event because of the recent economic slump. "We never imagined that people would be as generous this year," she said, "but people have been even more generous."
Much of the high bidding resulted from the dynamic presentation of the auctioneer, MBA Program Director Steven Lubrano, who even offered to shave his head for $800 at the end of the auction.
"I don't care if you're poor students now, next year you're going to be rich as heck so max out the credit cards," Lubrano said as he commenced the event.
The "symbolic value within the Tuck community" of certain items enhanced their popularity among bidders, according to first-year Tuck student Jason Cawley. Dinners cooked by students and professors drew the most money, for example, followed by creative items such as the opportunity to name a character on "The Practice," which sold for $3,000.
"This is great -- it shows the sprit of the students, and the willingness of the students to contribute to a very worthwhile cause," Dean of the Tuck Paul Danos, said.
Support from Tuck deans such as Danos helped make the auction an even greater success, with the Dean's Office offering to contribute $20,000 if earnings from the auction reached $22,000 or more.
Yet according to Moore, the entire community's interest in the auction was instrumental to its success. Following the auction the Tuck community gathered for dinner, a jazz band and cocktail hour.
Danos, in his welcoming remarks, captured the philanthropic and festive atmosphere of the event, saying, "this is one of the great events at Tuck. It's terrific fun, and we do a lot of good at the auction."
Although the live auction is completed, the silent auction will continue through today.
In previous years, Tuck students pledged one day's salary to support non-profit internships, according to Russell. This tradition was replaced last year with the auction. After two successful years, leaders plan to continue the fundraising event.
Next year, the auction is expected to expand to include a satellite auction at the Tuck alumni meeting in Boston, Moore said.
Extending fund-raising endeavors would allow still more students to experience what Lee said was "a blessing."
Work in the non-profit sector provides students with opportunities "to really use the skills they learn at Tuck, and at the same time acquire an entirely unique set of experiences that go beyond the traditional definition of enterprise," Lee added.
