With several family ties to the University of Montevallo, Barbara Bonfield feels it is only natural to give back to the university that has given so much to her.

A member of the class of 1958, Bonfield retired as the director of the Jefferson County Area Agency on Aging and is an active advocate for social justice in Alabama. Several family members—including her mother, aunts, sisters and a niece—graduated from Montevallo.

“UM is a part of my family,” Bonfield said. “It is only natural that I share my resources so that others may have the opportunity to study and advance and enjoy an excellent education in a beautiful location.”

Bonfield said many of the values she was taught at home were reinforced at Montevallo. She also likes the idea of supporting an institution that benefits the individual, community and the state.

“It’s important to me that UM flourish, continuing and strengthening its academic excellence, renewing the beautiful historic campus and receiving the recognition it deserves,” Bonfield said.

Bonfield is also concerned with the amount of loans many students may face with increasing tuition expenses.

“I, who have reaped so many benefits from my UM education, feel that it is payback time,” she said. “Sharing my resources with today’s students, making their education more feasible, means that the community I live in will be enhanced. We all benefit from sharing a commitment to UM.”