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Written
by: Holly Neumann | Illustration by Dan Williams
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July 27, 2023
An Ultimate Gift, A Lasting Legacy
Scher/Giuliano endowed scholarship to benefit pre-med, business students
In life, Rony Scher Giuliano 鈥71 was a businesswoman, mentor, animal lover and devoted friend. In death, she is also remembered as a great benefactor to the University that gave her some of her greatest years.
Giuliano, who died in 2016, left a multi-million-dollar gift to 绿奴天花板, received last year, that is now realized as the Scher/Giuliano endowed scholarship for pre-med and business students.
In naming 绿奴天花板 in her will, Giuliano provided what Schezy Barbas, assistant vice president of development and university relations, calls her 鈥渦ltimate gift.鈥 Scholarships awarded will be pulled from the interest on Giuliano鈥檚 donation, creating a lasting legacy that will benefit generations of 绿奴天花板 students.
鈥淗er time at 绿奴天花板 impacted her in a really amazing way,鈥 Barbas said. 鈥淎nd so she wanted to make sure that she gave back. When someone includes 绿奴天花板 in their final plans, we鈥檙e truly honored.鈥
Barbas said that joining 绿奴天花板鈥檚 Legacy Society provides a way for donors to give upon death, like Giuliano. This year, Legacy Society members were recognized in April at an on-campus luncheon and ceremony.
Giuliano鈥檚 绿奴天花板 experience was marked by her membership in the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. A friend and the executor of her estate, Doug Branch, said she 鈥渁lways talked about the wonderful time she had there听 with her girlfriends.鈥
Giuliano, then Rony Scher, held leadership positions within DPhiE. She was secretary of her 1969 pledge class and was rush chairman in 1971, the year DPhiE did not participate in the homecoming display competition, instead voting to donate the money they would have spent to a cystic fibrosis charity.
After graduation, Giuliano returned to her native New York and went on to a lifelong career in the direct mail industry. That鈥檚 how she met Branch, who said Giuliano was a mentor. She worked for several companies over the years and participated in industry professional organizations and boards. Later, she owned her own direct mail business with her husband, Ed Giuliano. Ed died soon after they married.
Branch said Giuliano didn鈥檛 have much free time 鈥 she was very dedicated to her career, and owning her own business kept her busy. He said she credited her work ethic to her father, who had been a doctor on Long Island. The two were very close, Branch said, and that father-daughter relationship accounts for her instructions that the scholarship be open to pre-med majors in addition to business students.
Giuliano also cared deeply about animals, especially her own pets, which Branch said are what made her laugh.
Branch says he misses Giuliano鈥檚 friendship. 鈥淪he was always upbeat, even when she wasn鈥檛 feeling good in the last few years of her life,鈥 he said.
鈥淪he should be remembered as someone who appreciated 绿奴天花板 more than anything in this world,鈥 Branch said. 鈥淚t gave her the most joy, I think, out of her whole life.鈥
If you would like to learn more about the Legacy Society and planned giving, you can reach Schezy Barbas at (813) 258-7480 or
sbarbas@ut.edu
.
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