HONORING OUR 2025 FOUNDERS AWARD WINNERS
Barbara Payne Shelton ’70 and Gordon Shelton ’68 were both attending graduate school in the 1970s, living mostly off Barbara’s stipend, when they were approached for the first time by staff at McDaniel College about making a gift to the annual fund.
“At the time, we were spending about $15 per week on groceries, so a $25 gift was fairly substantial for us at that point in our lives,” Barbara says about the first gift they made to their alma mater. “We haven’t missed a year of giving since.”
While they have long since made the transition from annual giving to major gifts, the Sheltons — the recipients of the 2025 Founders Award — are proof that what may seem like small gifts can add up over time.
“We were honored to be recognized as this year’s Founders Award winners, but we did think twice about accepting the honor,” Barbara says. “Ultimately, we thought that maybe it would motivate some of our peers and friends to give more to the college.”
And the Sheltons know that while all alumni may not be able to give at the Founders Society level, they reinforce that every gift — of time, talent, or treasure — has the potential to change a student’s life.
“One of the things that has always made me want to give back to the college is because it gave so much to me.”— Barbara Shelton ’70
“You never know when you’re going to bump into somebody who might be interested in the college or might have money that they’re looking to donate somewhere,” Barbara says. “I can’t tell you how often my McDaniel tag on my car has started conversations with prospective students and their families.”
The motivation behind the Sheltons’ decades-long giving track record? “If you enjoy something, let it show,” says Gordon. “It will in turn nourish you as well. Barbara and I both have a variety of educational experience, but McDaniel was the best by a mile.”
Both Sheltons say the community they found on the Hill is a major contributor to their continued engagement with the college. Gordon has been a volunteer class reporter for The Hill magazine since 1975, and anyone who has read his Class of 1968 column knows the lore of The Crab Guys. Each month, a group of about 10 (or more) classmates from the late 1960s and early 1970s get together to catch up over crabs and Natty Bohs.
“Forming small groups and staying connected with classmates over decades is so special and fun in this community,” Gordon says. “It encourages people to contribute and remember the good stuff.”
The future of McDaniel under the Reaching New Heights campaign is going to be bright. And we’re proud to play a role in that success. ”
As for Barbara, she has been a member of the Round Robins since her first year on the Hill, when she met her lifelong best friends in McDaniel Hall. She was a founding member of the original McDaniel Women’s Leadership Network, which has recently been revitalized under President Julia Jasken’s leadership, and has served on the college’s Board of Trustees since 2009. “One of the things that has always made me want to give back to the college is because it gave so much to me,” she says.
Over six decades, the Sheltons have prioritized philanthropy to the college, but they have diversified their giving to many different causes on the Hill. From the McDaniel Women’s Leadership Network Endowed Scholarship Fund to The Shelton Adjunct Faculty Recognition Endowed Fund, one-off gifts to capital projects like the Roj Student Center and the Home on the Hill food pantry, or The Gordon ’68 and Barbara Payne ’70 Shelton Student Research Fund, their giving has touched students and faculty in myriad ways. But they say the gifts that have meant the most to them have been those designated for scholarships.
“A lot of our friends at the college were on scholarships, myself included, and it made us realize that there were a lot of people who couldn’t have the McDaniel opportunity if somebody didn’t help them,” Barbara says. “So, giving to the college — and especially to scholarships — is a way to pay it backward and pay it forward at the same time.”
“The future of McDaniel under the Reaching New Heights campaign is going to be bright,” Gordon says. “And we’re proud to play a role in that success.”
President Jasken presented Barbara Payne Shelton ’70 and Gordon Shelton ’68 with the 2025 Founders Award at the 2025 Founders Society Gala.
At the 2023 Scholarship Luncheon, Barbara Payne Shelton ’70 served on a panel alongside scholarship recipients Stephani Portillo ’23 and Destiny Edwards ’24.