Everett Oratory competition receives $200,000 endowment
Generous sum boosts contest, several academic departments; five finalists to challenge two-time winner 'Golden Lips'
Nick Tabor
Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: News
Hillsdale College's speech department recently received a $200,000 endowment for the annual Edward Everett Prize in Oratory competition - and with this year's competition only a week away, it arrived just in time.
The donation came from the Saul N. Silbert Charitable Trust. The trust donated an additional $550,000 to other departments of the college, including $300,000 for scholarships in English, history and theater; $150,000 for Hillsdale Academy scholarships; and $100,000 for the Churchill biography project, according to Assistant Professor of Speech Kirstin Kiledal.
She said the recently deceased Silbert worked for the U.S. Department of Treasury, then started his own tax business after retirement.
Silbert's trustee, Shirley Converse, has a daughter who graduated from Hillsdale College in 1974. Converse said she chose Hillsdale College as a donation recipient because of Silbert's interest in the arts and in the college itself.
Kiledal said the competition, which enters its eighth year, began as an endowed program. But since the original donors moved their funding to other areas of the college, the department has been forced to seek new sources of funding every year.
"Most of the time the college has been able to find generous and often anonymous donors," she said. Still, she said the Silbert donation came as a major relief.
"It's not just a gift to maintain the competition for one year, but rather it's a permanent endowment," she said.
She said the department spends about $6,500 on prize money for each year's competition. The winner receives $3,000, the runner-up receives $2,000, the third-place contestant receives $1,000, and the other two finalists and alternate each receive $100 and a plaque.
She said they might use part of the endowment to increase the finalists' stipends or to award plaques to semifinalists as well.
For this year's competition, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Feb. 21, contestants will speak for 10 minutes about "The Limits of Tolerance in an Age of Diversity."
They are graded on time management, presentation, clarity of ideas, logical flow, adaptation to audience, appearance and persuasive merit.
Out of 16 contestants, four were eliminated in the first preliminary round on Jan. 25, and another seven were eliminated in the second round, on the following day.
The five finalists are senior Dan Burfiend, juniors Gennady Stolyarov and Michael David, and sophomores Megan Huening and Allen Shoff. Sophomore Betsy Peters will serve as an alternate.
Burfiend won the competition in his freshman and junior years, and he made the finals in his sophomore year.
Though he hopes to win a third time, he said anything could happen.
"I could very well fail, and I could very well get fifth place," Burfiend said. "I have four other very worthy competitors."
Stolyarov agreed.
"[Burfiend is] a powerful speaker, but he's certainly not without competition this year," he said.
The donation came from the Saul N. Silbert Charitable Trust. The trust donated an additional $550,000 to other departments of the college, including $300,000 for scholarships in English, history and theater; $150,000 for Hillsdale Academy scholarships; and $100,000 for the Churchill biography project, according to Assistant Professor of Speech Kirstin Kiledal.
She said the recently deceased Silbert worked for the U.S. Department of Treasury, then started his own tax business after retirement.
Silbert's trustee, Shirley Converse, has a daughter who graduated from Hillsdale College in 1974. Converse said she chose Hillsdale College as a donation recipient because of Silbert's interest in the arts and in the college itself.
Kiledal said the competition, which enters its eighth year, began as an endowed program. But since the original donors moved their funding to other areas of the college, the department has been forced to seek new sources of funding every year.
"Most of the time the college has been able to find generous and often anonymous donors," she said. Still, she said the Silbert donation came as a major relief.
"It's not just a gift to maintain the competition for one year, but rather it's a permanent endowment," she said.
She said the department spends about $6,500 on prize money for each year's competition. The winner receives $3,000, the runner-up receives $2,000, the third-place contestant receives $1,000, and the other two finalists and alternate each receive $100 and a plaque.
She said they might use part of the endowment to increase the finalists' stipends or to award plaques to semifinalists as well.
For this year's competition, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Feb. 21, contestants will speak for 10 minutes about "The Limits of Tolerance in an Age of Diversity."
They are graded on time management, presentation, clarity of ideas, logical flow, adaptation to audience, appearance and persuasive merit.
Out of 16 contestants, four were eliminated in the first preliminary round on Jan. 25, and another seven were eliminated in the second round, on the following day.
The five finalists are senior Dan Burfiend, juniors Gennady Stolyarov and Michael David, and sophomores Megan Huening and Allen Shoff. Sophomore Betsy Peters will serve as an alternate.
Burfiend won the competition in his freshman and junior years, and he made the finals in his sophomore year.
Though he hopes to win a third time, he said anything could happen.
"I could very well fail, and I could very well get fifth place," Burfiend said. "I have four other very worthy competitors."
Stolyarov agreed.
"[Burfiend is] a powerful speaker, but he's certainly not without competition this year," he said.
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