Supporting Citizens of the World

 

Alan and Ann Raff have respect for the transformative powers of travel. “Your perceptions change,” explained Alan. “You learn that there is a vast world out there, where important things are happening and where different types of people, religions, and lifestyles are the norm. It’s not the sort of thing you can learn in a class.”

Thus the Raffs are willing to foot the bill so that a number of exceptional University of Miami undergraduate students can embark on journeys, both literal and figurative, of their own. They have created an endowed scholarship, within the Department of International Studies, that sponsors up to 10 qualified international-studies students to attend the University and participate in study-abroad opportunities. “Many of the students would not have been able to go to college without the scholarship,” said Alan. “I’ve met several of them and they are really terrific. They know what they want to do with their lives and they deserve the chance to pursue it.”

Bruce Bagley, chair of the Department of International Studies, agrees. “Some of our department’s brightest students are funded through Raff scholarships,” he said. “We are grateful to the Raffs for helping us to bring in these wonderful students.”

Although he is deeply devoted to the University of Miami, Alan is not a graduate of the school. But the Coral Gables businessman, who spent his career as a marketing manager for a clock and watch manufacturer, said it’s only logical that he should support his local academic institution. “The University is the glue that holds Miami together by providing us with music, art, cultural events, and more.”

While travel abroad is the main focus of the Raffs’ philanthropy, they also have made a generous contribution to the arts. In 1986, they donated a painting by Marie Laurencin to the University’s Lowe Art Museum. Called “Portrait of a Lady,” the painting had been in the Raff family for many years. “But I wanted to share it with the Lowe so that students would have the opportunity to see it,” said Alan.

“Ann and I believe in education,” he noted, “and that is the underlying theme in all of our gifts to UM.”

Alan and Ann Raff have been actively involved with the University for decades.