Education: Halfway Giver

An angel descended last year on unsuspecting Davidson College (enrollment: 920) near Charlotte, N.C. He was a lively, white-mustached angel with a resemblance to Teddy Roosevelt—and $400,000 under his wing. The cash proved that he was very much of this world, and so did his terms: the Presbyterian men's school could have the money for a sorely needed science building—if it raised another $700,000. It did. Last week, as workmen hauled shiny lab equipment into the new building, Manhattan Millionaire Charles Anderson Dana, back in his Park Avenue aerie, busily unrolled blueprints from other colleges. The plans had to be sound,...