A game-changing gift for the Counselor Education Program

The UNM Foundation honors the memory and celebrates the legacy and generosity of Dorothy Wooldridge Gram, who passed away in March 2024.

For Dorothy Wooldridge Gram, education is a pathway to a successful life. 

“It’s the key to progress,” she says. “If people are well-educated, it makes a big difference in their lives.”

When Dorothy, who holds a master’s degree in counselor education from UNM, returned to campus in May to deliver the keynote address at the College of Education and Human Sciences (COEHS) convocation, she met President Stokes and many COEHS faculty, staff and students. And what she saw deeply impressed her.

“All the faculty were so kind and humanistic,” she says. “They take such a personal interest in all their students.” That visit planted a seed in Dorothy’s mind: She could make a gift to COEHS to support the counselor education program.

Dorothy herself was a counselor. She worked in the Los Angeles public school system, in a prison and in private practice. For the last several years of her career, she worked as a facilitator for 72 Southern California schools, connecting educators, physical and mental healthcare providers, and hospitals with a vast network of resources to help children with virtually any kind of need.

“It was a very interesting job, and it took all the talent I had,” she says. “I was getting the community to become more aware.”

Game-changing gift

With her gift, Dorothy has established the Dorothy Gram Counselor Education Fund. The fund’s purpose is to support the Counselor Education Program within COEHS – specifically, the program’s pro-bono Manzanita Counseling Center. At that clinic, advanced graduate students provide free, confidential counseling to individuals, couples and families. The student counselors are under the supervision of UNM faculty who are licensed professional counselors. Graduate students receive expert training; New Mexicans receive free counseling services.

That is a mission Dorothy wanted to support. And she doesn’t want to get in the way, so she has stipulated that her gift be used toward whatever purposes the Counselor Education Program faculty and staff deem most needed. 

“They can make the decisions,” Dorothy says. “They know what they need.” 

“I believe this gift will be a game-changer for the Counselor Education Program and also for mental health in the state of New Mexico,” says Kristopher Goodrich, COEHS Interim Dean. “Through Dorothy’s support, we will be able to update the technology in our counseling clinic to meet more current best practices and introduce our students to new and innovative ways to work as counselors.

“This gift also allows the Counselor Education program to invest in new areas to support further curricular development and provide capacity for the hiring of faculty and staff,” Dr. Goodrich continues. “Our program is the leading mental health training program in New Mexico. Dorothy’s gift will influence how we train our students and support those who enter the behavioral health workforce.”

A way to stay connected

Dorothy acknowledges the tremendous need to train counselors to care for the behavioral health needs of New Mexicans now and in the future.

“I hope they have enough money to do whatever they want to do,” she says, “so counselors are well-trained to help the community. I observed teacher training several times and was very impressed. The faculty works in wonderful ways with the students.”

Dorothy has learned that a gift kept to oneself is a gift wasted. Gifts should be given. In her career, she gave her skills and energy to her community. In retirement, she gives financial support to her alma mater.

“I’ve been a very lucky individual,” she says. “My mother was a teacher; my father wasn’t well-educated, but he wanted his children to be. I was always encouraged to get an education. It has made such a difference in my life. I had a wonderful husband, and we were at UNM together. I’ve always been sentimentally attached to UNM.”

The Counselor Education Program will host a Reunion Reception for program alumni and supporters to re-connect and to celebrate Dorothy Gram’s gift on the evening of Friday, May 3, 2024, in the Simpson Room on the UNM Main campus.