Professor Catherine Caraher estate benefits CLAE

History Professor Catherine Caraher left an estate gift to University of Detroit Mercy through a Charitable Remainder Trust that will be used to support scholarships and renovations at the Jane and Walter Briggs Building, where most of the College of Liberal Arts & Education courses are taught.

This summer, the first floor of the Briggs building will be enhanced with counters and seating for students using laptops, a large flat-screen TV, and display areas. In the lower level, a new student lounge will offer casual setting for students to study or relax with friends.

A larger portion of the estate gift will be used for an endowed scholarship in Caraher's name. Those funds will also count toward a challenge grant to raise $2 million in scholarships by Dec. 31, 2014 for a 50 percent match ($1 million) from the Madeline Stang Foundation. Caraher's gift was structured as a charitable remainder trust, which also provided retirement income.

As an associate professor who joined the staff in 1962, Caraher later served as chairperson of the History Department and as associate dean of the Liberal Arts College.

"She gave her life to the University and to this College," says Roy Finkenbine, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Education. "She helped a lot of first-generation students through her teaching and advice."

"She was a formidable woman," notes Joe Moynihan '78, '81. "She enjoyed the banter between student, class and professor. Of all the great teachers at U of D, she was a gem."

Caraher '53, '62 received a bachelor's degree from U of D and master's degrees from both U of D and the University of Michigan. She received a doctorate degree in American Culture from U of M in 1967.

Caraher died July 9, 2012 at age 80. Her obituary in the Traverse City Record-Eagle eloquently stated: "She lived simply but with great generosity; she didn't spend time building castles but fostering souls."