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Basil G. Lee
For Basil G. Lee, donating to UNCF and supporting historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) is a family tradition. His grandfather, Sylvanus Powell Weathersby, was a graduate of UNCF member college Tuskegee University and the first African American veterinarian in the state of Mississippi.
Lee’s mother and brother also attended Tuskegee, and a cousin is enrolled now. In addition, Lee’s wife,Debra, attended Virginia Union University, another UNCF college. Two of his four children, Bianca and Brianne, and several other family members attend Florida A&M University, an HBCU.
While Lee opted to enroll in Cornell University, he often visited his brother at Tuskegee and found that his brother had much closer ties with the faculty, something Lee lacked at his own school. “My brother had more people concerned about him,” says Lee. “When faculty members care, you try harder. It’s very impersonal when you sit in an auditorium with 700 other students.” After earning a degree in mechanical engineering and moving to Atlanta, Lee designed packaging equipment for companies such as Folgers, Crest and Clorox. Often, however, he found himself embroiled in conversations with educators who told him, “I don’t tell you how to do your job. Don’t tell me how to do mine.”
So in 1991, Lee switched professions and since then has taught high school math in the Fulton County public school system. There he taps his practical experience to show students how math is applied in the real world.
For many years, Lee has provided personal financial contributions to UNCF, support he plans to continue because “UNCF and its schools make a great effort to not only raise funds but get them in the hands of students who will put them to good use.” In addition, Lee and his mother created the Sylvanus Powell Weathersby Scholarship in honor of his grandfather. For two decades, the scholarship has provided financial aid for an upperclassman at Tuskegee who is going into veterinary medicine.
Continue the work of Basil Lee. Make a gift in their honor or in honor of someone you love today.
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