John & Ann Mack Collier ’63

Brief bio: The Colliers both served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone. Ann (pictured) was a mathematics teacher for 27 years, including 16 years on the faculty at Northern Virginia Community College. She’s a former member of the executive committee of the College’s board of trustees. John retired as associate dean of the School of Area Studies at the Foreign Service Institute. In the early 2000s, the couple were major donors to the renovation of Hewes Library.

Their gift: The couple has established the John and Ann Collier Endowment for Global Engagement.

Why they give: Generally, said Ann, she gives to her alma mater because of “how important I think a liberal arts education is, and wanting to support that.” Specific to their recent gift, the couple believes in the transformative power of seeing the world. “The Peace Corps allowed us to have a much broader outlook about what some of the rest of the world was like,” said John. “It gives you an appreciation for what gifts you have and how blessed you are to have the things we have in the United States,” added Ann. John commented, “The world is getting smaller. This is no time to be building walls, undermining alliances and denigrating trusted relationships. A liberating point of view is desperately needed in our colleges – build bridges, not walls.”

What Monmouth means to them: “Besides feeling I received a good education at Monmouth, I really enjoyed the relationships I made – not just with roommates and classmates, but also with the professors and other people at the College,” said Ann. In particular, John spoke about the relationships Ann forged with several other members of the Class of 1963, with whom she regularly gathers. “I enjoy seeing how much she and her classmates relish that,” he said.