Hope Sheffield’s enthusiasm for the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults is overflowing.
When Hope began her journey into the program’s great books two decades ago, she found an uplifting experience unlike any other. Courses in philosophy and literature, from Plato to Shakespeare, prompted inspiration and understanding, while dedicated, knowledgeable instructors asked probing questions and ignited lively discussion.
“I tried classes elsewhere, but nothing hit like the Graham School,” says Hope, who graduated from the Basic Program in 2008.
Meanwhile, her husband, Jeff Sheffield, took open enrollment courses at Graham before entering the Basic Program in autumn 2023. He has reveled in spirited class discussions, close readings of complex texts, and instructors well versed in the Socratic method.
“We’re all there for the love of learning, and our instructors lead the way,” says Jeff, who earned a BA in History from the University of Chicago in 1976.
In course after course, Hope and Jeff have been grateful for instructors living out the University’s educational mission. Instructors are intellectually curious and ambitious, collaborative and committed, and their talent and dedication stirred the couple’s philanthropic spirit.
Investing in instructors
Catalyzed by their admiration for the instructors, Hope and Jeff initiated conversations with Graham leadership about supporting the people who made their learning experience so transformational.
Help support the Graham School
During those discussions, the suburban Chicago couple became aware that instructors were adjunct employees and did not receive health benefits. That status challenged many instructors’ ability to stay involved with the Basic Program.
“I felt indebted to these people who were choosing to do this work that was so benefiting me,” Hope says. “To do nothing in the face of this didn’t seem right.”
The couple responded in earnest.
In 2018, Hope and Jeff partially endowed four part-time with benefits positions for instructors. The positions have empowered numerous instructors to have more stable employment and to receive healthcare and other benefits.
“If not for this support, I would have had to get another job for health insurance and wouldn’t be able to do the work I do in the Basic Program,” says Amy Thomas Elder, an instructor in the Basic Program since 1999 who has had both Hope and Jeff in class.
Clare Pearson, who began teaching at the Graham School in 1996, feared she might have to end her longstanding relationship with the school to pursue a full-time position with benefits. The endowed instructor positions erased that concern.
“Philanthropic support empowers me to continue doing what I love at a high level,” Clare says. “It’s really an amazing gift.”
In 2024, meanwhile, the couple invested further and fully endowed a named instructorship –Sheffield Family Distinguished Instructor in the Basic Program. Geared toward a veteran Basic Program instructor, the endowed position offers benefits as well as time the instructor can devote to developing new courses.
“Because we hold the instructors in such esteem and because they’re so good at what they do, we’ve wanted to do what we can to contribute to their overall benefits package,” Jeff says.
Meaningful support
Hope and Jeff’s record of giving underscores their passion for the Graham School and its Basic Program as well as the vital role instructors play in creating a dynamic learning environment.
The couple’s gifts provide protection, stability, and peace of mind to instructors, positioning them to be “their highest-quality, available selves,” Jeff says. Their gifts also aid the Graham School’s instructor recruitment and retention efforts while elevating the school’s standing and visibility within the University of Chicago community.
Yet more, Amy calls the gifts a testament to the rich education the Basic Program provides to adult learners and the importance of liberal arts education in a rapidly changing world.
“To have alumni support like this is encouraging and demonstrates the belief people have in us, our work, and our mission,” Amy says.
Hope and Jeff’s recent gifts are helping to propel Securing the Future, an initiative developed by Basic Program alumni and students, including Hope and Jeff, to preserve the Basic Program’s distinctive model of teaching and learning, its long-term financial stability, and academic vitality for generations to come. The enterprising $5.25 million campaign seeks to fully endow four instructor positions with health benefits, support the professional and course development activities of instructors, expand access to the Basic Program through scholarships, and increase opportunities for students and instructors to connect and learn both in and out of the classroom.
“What makes the Basic Program so special is our world-class instructors,” said Graham School Dean Seth Green. “Philanthropic investments like this one are what empower us to better support our instructors and to sustain the program for generations of learners to come.”
To learn more about Securing the Future and opportunities to help transform the Graham School, please contact Tiana Schlottman at tianas@uchicago.edu.
