A Lifetime Librarian’s Gift of Helping Students

Sally Wambold’s parents knew the value of a college education and worked hard to enable Sally to attend Old Dominion University. She started as an English major but quickly gravitated to German. Sally deeply enjoyed her time at ODU and became close to several of her professors.

By the time she graduated from ODU, Sally knew she wanted to continue her education and pursue a career as a librarian. She had moved to Richmond. However, at that time, ODU did not have an MLIS program. In fact, no college in Virginia offered the program. So, she enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and drove back and forth several days a week until she earned her master’s degree in Library Science.

Sally’s dedicated career included positions in the University of Virginia and Reynolds Community College libraries. In 1980, Sally landed her dream position as technical services librarian at the University of Richmond Law School Library. There she helped students and focused on preserving archived materials. Her 31 years of work in this specialized field was nationally recognized in 2013 when she was awarded the Renee D. Chapman Award for Outstanding Contributions in Technical Services Law Librarianship.

In retirement, Sally and her cat, Sunflower, enjoy staying in touch with friends and being active in her faith community. She had drafted an estate plan a few years ago that included a gift to ODU. However, when she met with a member of ODU’s Gift Planning Team, she was excited to learn that ODU has since added a growing MLIS program with national accreditation.

Sally was thrilled to learn how easily she could transform her general bequest into an endowment that will specifically support future MLIS students working in the ODU Archives. Sally feels especially fulfilled knowing that her gift is an extension of her life’s work and that it will go directly to help prepare future librarians working in Archives & Special Collections.

You, too, can make a lasting impact on future ODU students by leaving a gift in your estate plan. To learn how to create a scholarship or to discuss other giving options, please contact Barbara M. Henley, CFRE at 757/683-6563 or bhenley@odu.edu or Brett A. Smiley, CFRE at 757-683-4735 or bsmiley@odu.edu.