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After nearly 40 years of marriage, Virginia (Ginny) (’71 B.A., CERT) and Edward (Ed) Sayles have a lot to be proud of. Loving family. Career success. Community service. But perhaps the most gratifying is their commitment to higher education—especially to the ÿ�մ���.

Ginny and Ed have long had strong roots to UM-Dearborn. After earning her bachelor’s degree, Ginny earned a master’s and Ph.D. from U-M Ann Arbor. She took a position at UM-Dearborn coordinating extension sites for all three U-M campuses and eventually became UM-Dearborn’s Dean for Academic Affairs. Ed taught philosophy here for 29 years.

Ed and Ginny put their two sons through college at UM-Dearborn and paid for their four grandchildren’s education, one of whom graduated from UM-Dearborn. Still, they wanted to do more.

“After our last grandchild graduated, we thought it would be great to encourage another generation of students,” Ginny said.

True to their commitment to UM-Dearborn, and their generous natures, Ed and Ginny became supporters of many UM-Dearborn scholarships and programs. Their deep ties to the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters (CASL) inspired them to create an endowed scholarship, the Edward and Virginia Sayles Scholarship Fund, with a $25,000 gift.

“We’ve both always valued education and the importance of it,” said Ginny. “And what’s most important to us is that it helps someone who needs it.”

Ed and Ginny have stayed involved in campus in numerous ways, as founding members of and contributors to the Academy of Retired Faculty and Staff and the CASL Emeriti Scholarship. Ed also served on and is the first Emeritus Member of the CASL Dean’s Advisory Council.

“It has been important to us to stay connected,” said Ed.

“We believe UM-Dearborn enabled our successes––from our careers to our family––and we just want to show our thanks,” said Ginny.

If you would like to make a donation to the Edward and Virginia Sayles Scholarship Fund  or contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 313-593-5130.