A Natural Partnership: Glendening Family Endows Director of Outdoor Education

A man and woman with a scenic view behind them

By Rebecca Taurisano October 21, 2024

When Bruce Glendening ʼ77 and his wife, Cecile, were considering how to give back to Colgate University, they knew they wanted their gift to impact the greatest number of students possible. An avid naturalist, decorated Air Force pilot, and retired attorney, Bruce wanted to encourage students to have meaningful experiences outside of the classroom and explore new areas of study. Earlier this year, Bruce and Cecile endowed the Glendening Family Director of Outdoor Education at Colgate University.

The mission of the Outdoor Education Program is to provide Colgate students with leadership, wellness, personal growth, sense of place, and community-building opportunities through outdoor and experiential programs. The program plays an important role in the Colgate student experience through offerings like Wilderness Adventure and the Staff Leadership Training Program, as well as satisfying the University’s physical education requirement. This Glendening Family Director of Outdoor Education endowment improves access, provides new equipment, and enriches classes and outings. It also ensures the program will be available to future generations of Colgate students, furthering the efforts of the University’s Third-Century Plan to enhance the student experience, create a compelling campus culture, and foster connections between the students, faculty, and staff.

The Glendening Family boasts an impressive lineage of Colgate University graduates, including Bruce’s great-uncle Charles Glendening, Class of 1917; Bruce’s father, John W. Glendening Jr. ʼ38, a University trustee; Bruce’s uncle, Robert E. Glendening ʼ40; Bruce’s brother, Robert “Bob” L. Glendening ʼ71; and most recently, Bruce’s nephew, Christopher B. Glendening ’09.

The family also has a long history of enriching the student experience through their generous support of the University. Bruce’s father, John Glendening, was responsible for funding the creation of the Glendening Boathouse and Bruce’s brother, Bob, and his wife, Beverly, endowed the Khaled Sanad Endowed Head Men’s Rowing Coach, on the 20th anniversary of the boathouse dedication. “It all started with my dad building the boathouse,” says Bruce. “The intention was always to ensure more people could participate in an activity and for the gift to make a greater impact.”

Colgate’s Outdoor Education Program dates back to 1914, when E.W. Goodhue started the Colgate Outing Club, modeled after a similar program at Dartmouth. Naturally, the club focused on winter sports, such as ski-running, snowshoeing, and tobogganing. In the mid-1980s, the recreational sports department created what would become Outdoor Education, adding an instructional aspect to the programming. In 1988, the University’s most popular pre-orientation program to date, Wilderness Adventure, was created.

"Outdoor Education is a signature program at Colgate, and thanks to the generosity of Bruce and the Glendening family, it will be a forever program,” says Yariv Amir ʼ01, vice president and director of athletics. “The continued generational support of Colgate by the Glendening family is truly incredible. Their generosity has had a direct impact on our students and with this endowment, that impact will be felt in perpetuity."

As a boy growing up in Pelham, N.Y., Bruce developed a fondness for the outdoors during his path to Eagle Scout. Bruce was always intrigued by the impact of outdoor experiences, and he has volunteered for a decade with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, eventually serving as vice president of the organization.

“Spending time in nature and teaching others about the outdoors is a life skill,” he says. “By spending time outside of the classroom, students are learning leadership skills they can take with them after they leave Colgate.”

Bruce fondly remembers Colgate experiences of his own both inside and outside of the classroom. A history major earning honors, Bruce was part of the London Study Group during his senior year. He played saxophone in the marching band, was a DJ for WRCU radio, and was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. His family dog, Scout, became a fraternity house dog (first of Kappa Delta Rho and later of Phi Gamma Delta) and the beloved pet’s eulogy was published in the Colgate Maroon after its passing. Memorable Colgate professors of Bruce’s include Charles Blackton, who led the London Study Group in history; Jonathan Kistler, whose Shakespeare courses sparked a life-long love of theater; and Anthony Aveni, who is notable for his mesmerizing lectures on astronomy.

After graduating from Colgate and taking a gap year, Bruce attended law school at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., where he met Cecile — she was an undergraduate student at the time. He trained to become an Air Force Reserve pilot and served as a reservist for 12 years flying out of Andrews Air Force Base. Bruce was activated in Operation Desert Storm and received the Armed Forces Air Medal for meritorious service in a war zone, flying C-141 cargo planes.

After receiving his law degree, Bruce became an energy law attorney specializing in natural gas pipeline regulation, first working for law firm ArentFox Schiff, then becoming in-house counsel for Colonial Gas Company and Columbia Gas Transmission Company. Eventually he went to work for the Federal Aviation Administration, where he helped to develop new regulations required for the industry after 9/11. He retired in 2012.

Bruce and Cecile have been married for 41 years and have two daughters, Anna and Julia, and two granddaughters. Cecile is a retired archaeologist and a pilot, like Bruce. Cecile fondly remembers visiting Colgate’s beautiful campus for the first time. “It was like something out of a movie,” she says. “This is what a college campus is supposed to look like.”

Bruce and Cecile hope this endowment will help the Outdoor Education Program become even more robust. With Bruce’s 50th Reunion approaching in 2027, he says he hopes that this gift will encourage others to consider how they can give back. “We wanted to do something tangible for Colgate that would benefit a lot of students,” Bruce says. “By getting them out of the classroom, it could inspire them to try a new area of study and find out there is an entire world out there to explore.”