Parents and Friends
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For our Alumni, Parents and Friends |
| Fall 2006 | Table of Contents |
 Regina Raring |
Donor Profile: Regina Raring
By Karen L. Gill
Eight months before Regina S. Raring and her husband, Richard H. Raring, moved to Newport News in 1971, their only child, 3-month-old Stephen, died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, then called crib death.
As older parents, the couple had felt blessed to have a child and struggled to make sense of their son’s death. They wanted to learn everything known at that time about crib death and used the library at Christopher Newport University for their research.
The Rarings went on to establish the Tidewater Guild for Infant Survival for the Hampton Roads area in 1972 to help educate parents, the medical community and the public about SIDS and promote research. Mr. Raring published a book, “Crib Death: Scourge of Infants, Shame of Society,” in the mid-1970s that helped ignite public sentiment about crib death.
Her science interest spurred by their research, Mrs. Raring began taking classes at CNU, and her husband encouraged her to continue her studies full-time.
“I wanted to take classes in the sciences to help me understand the complexity of the human being. The classes occupied my mind so that I didn’t have to dwell on our loss, and possibly I could help others with what I learned,” Mrs. Raring said.
As a pre-med major, Mrs. Raring said she had dedicated professors who challenged their students.
“It was a lot of work when I was going through it,” Mrs. Raring said. “I couldn’t believe how hard I worked. We learned things the hard way. We didn’t have all the up-to-date equipment.”
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1977, but the couple remained involved with the University. They continued to take courses part-time, often together. Later Mrs. Raring joined the LifeLong Learning Society and attended classes while her husband was at the CNU Library.
Mr. Raring, who retired as a metallurgist with NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, visited the CNU library every day that it was open for three decades.
“The CNU library was Dick’s second home for 30 some years. He loved books and was interested in everything. He was not a people person; he was a book person,” Mrs. Raring said. “I always came with him in the last few years.”
After Mr. Raring died on June 5, 2005, Mrs. Raring created an endowment as a memorial to her husband – the CNU Community RRR Library Endowment. The name is a play on the couples’ names – Richard and Regina Raring – as well as reading, ’riting and ’rithmetic, she said.
“It’s a significant endowment for the library,” said University Librarian Mary Sellen. “Endowments are more valuable than outright gifts because they last a lifetime.”
 Regina Raring reminisces with her former professor, Dr. Ron Mollick of the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science. |
A conservative estimate is that the endowment will provide $2,500 a year for the library, and Mrs. Raring was adamant that it would be for books, Ms. Sellen said.
“I had been working here for two days, and she came up to me with a check for $50,000. What a way to start!” Ms. Sellen said. “She’s the kind of person I want to be. She wants to give because it’s a good thing to do, and she doesn’t want any credit for it. I really admire that. She’s wonderful and obviously really cares about CNU.”
After her husband’s death, Mrs. Raring sold her home. “I had to invest the proceeds from the sale of our house somewhere, so I decided to invest in the students,” she said.
In addition to her library gift, Mrs. Raring created the CNU Biochemistry and Cell Biology Endowment Fund, half of which will be used for scholarships and half will be endowed for the purchase of equipment. The endowed scholarships will go to students with academic achievement, financial need and a strong interest in biochemistry and cell biology.
Explaining her reasons for supporting the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science, Mrs. Raring said, “I thought my instructors were great. They helped me to understand what the researchers were doing in hopes of finding the cause of crib death.”
Mrs. Raring has now moved back to Minnesota, where she grew up, to be closer to her family.
“To start a new life at that age takes a lot of courage,” said Ms. Sellen. “It says a lot about who Regina is.”