Quite Happy There: David Leigh Keeps Coming Back
A few years of college and a long tenure in your chosen field. Bryant has long promised a career-focused education based on thorough preparation for the real world. That's what the school gave David Leigh '54. And it has inspired Leigh not only to send his granddaughter to Bryant, but also to invest in the University's bright future.
Leigh fondly recalls the faculty who made a difference for him. "I had two excellent accounting teachers," he says. "Nelson Gulski and John Renza." Both of those names still resonate at Bryant. Gulski served the school as a faculty member, dean, interim president, and trustee. Renza is remembered fondly by many of Bryant's leaders as a star professor. It was Gulski who connected Leigh with his first job, at an accounting firm in New Haven.
"When I came out of Bryant," Leigh says, "I had a very good grasp of accounting, because we learned from the bottom up. We learned how to do bookkeeping, so it wasn't just a whole new world to me. I understood what journal entries were and things like that."
Today, the names in the classrooms may have changed but the promise of a Bryant education has not wavered. The school maintains a focus on the path from degree to career. Leigh sees this through his granddaughter's experience. She is currently a sophomore studying business and embracing the full Bryant experience as a member of the cross-country and track teams, all while preparing for a term abroad.
"She's quite happy there," says Leigh with confidence.
Thinking of what Bryant has given to him and his family, Leigh was moved to help others find similar success. "I have an annual scholarship for students from Connecticut majoring in accounting," he explains. When asked about his expectations for those students, Leigh says he wants them to go "wherever they're going to be happy." He can be certain that their degree will give them every opportunity to do just that.
Leigh continues to apply his Bryant education in his 61st year of practice, now with the firm Bailey, Moore, Glazer, Schaefer & Proto, LLP. Leigh is also doing his part to keep Bryant going well into the future, leaving a generous estate gift to the University. While looking to ensure the long-term well-being of the people and places that matter most to him, it was only natural to include the institution that has been a part of his life for more than six decades.
Over the decades Leigh has maintained a presence on campus, coming back to see the growth and tour the newest facilities. "The students and everybody seem so content and happy with the place," he says. Of course, the campus is a bit different from days on Cook Street in Providence, but the sound education remains a fixture, and it has inspired Leigh to make sure that the tradition continues.