PAUL SMITHS – Paul Smith’s College officials on Monday announced the largest-ever scholarship gift in the institution’s history, a $2 million fund meant to help students who wouldn’t be able to afford college otherwise.

The Frank M. Hutchins Scholarship Endowment was created by his widow, Jeanne. Frank Hutchins was a longtime trustee and supporter of Paul Smith’s College who died in 2012 at the age of 90.

Beginning in fall 2015, at least 10 scholarships a year will be awarded through the gift. Each scholarship will be worth $5,000 or more. According to the scholarship’s description, eligible students must “demonstrate a passion for a Paul Smith’s College education and all that it entails – experiential learning, a love of the outdoors and the Adirondacks, and any of the programs that lead to a Paul Smith’s College degree.”

“Frank invested his time on the board and his financial resources in Paul Smith’s College,” Jeanne Hutchins said. “He gave his support to the college, which has such a promising future in the Adirondacks. I believe he would be pleased with this contribution to a student scholarship fund in his memory.”

“This generous gift will change the lives of many students for years to come, and we couldn’t be more thankful to Mrs. Hutchins for making that possible,” Cathy Dove, the college’s new president, said in a press release. “As a college, we’re intent on finding ways to make a college education more affordable to more students. Raising more money for scholarships is a critical part of that plan.”

Dove noted that the gift also represents the special relationship the Hutchins family had with former college President John W. Mills, who retired this summer.

Paul Smith’s Board of Trustees Chairman E. Philip Saunders remembered Frank Hutchins as a man of vision and character.

“Frank Hutchins was one of my dearest friends, and a stalwart of the Rochester community, both as a businessman and as a community servant,” Saunders said in the press release. “I am so pleased the Hutchins family has chosen this scholarship endowment to honor Frank’s memory. I know he would be very pleased.”

Katharine Welling, the Hutchins’ daughter and a current board member at Paul Smith’s, said her father “was incredibly passionate about the college and its special students.

“I don’t think anything would have pleased him more,” she said of the scholarship in his name. “As a trustee of the college for many years, he knew all too well how difficult it was for many of the college’s students to find the money that would allow them to complete their degrees. He worked closely with John Mills and other presidents before him to raise funds throughout his 23-year tenure on the board.”

Frank Hutchins served on the college’s Board of Trustees from 1989 to 2004 and was an emeritus member until his death. While he lived in the Rochester area his entire life, he spent much time in the Adirondacks, where he owned property in Lake Clear. His Rochester-based advertising firm, Hutchins Advertising Co., was sold to Young & Rubicam in 1977. He went on to open another agency, Hutchins/DAC Group.

Hutchins was involved with several institutions, including the Rochester Institute of Technology (where he was once chairman of the board), the Boy Scouts of America, the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and the Adirondack Park Institute, which supported the formerly state-run Visitor Interpretive Centers in Paul Smiths and Newcomb.