"[Recurring giving] is out of sight, out of mind—like saving for your retirement."
To Laura Schieffler Crone, C’09, Phoebe Pearigen, P’14, P’17, will always be “Ms. Phoebe.” Long before Pearigen became Sewanee’s first lady, she founded the Sewanee Dance Conservatory and taught ballet, jazz, and tap to children in the community, including Crone, who was in fourth grade at the time. “We all loved her,” Crone says. “She always had a huge smile on her face.” Crone’s family lived in Sewanee for three years while her father, the Rev. Daniel Kent Schieffler, T’99, P’03, P’09, earned a master’s of divinity at the School of Theology—and, eventually, the Mountain called her back as an undergraduate. These days, Laura and her husband, Andrew Crone, C’07, stay connected to the University as recurring monthly donors to the Sewanee Fund and Sewanee’s men’s tennis team. Andrew is also a University trustee representing the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas—a position that was offered to both of the Crones initially. “Selfishly, I took it,” Andrew laughs.
Laura’s familial ties to Sewanee include not only her father, but also her brother, David Schieffler, C’03, her grandfather, and her great-grandfather. Comparatively, Andrew is more of a newcomer to the University. As a high schooler in Little Rock, he set his sights on joining Sewanee’s tennis program. After touring the campus, “basically, I didn’t want to go anywhere else besides Sewanee,” he says, noting that the Domain’s wide range of outdoor learning and recreational programs appealed to him as an Eagle Scout. Greek life at Sewanee also caught his interest. “I liked the openness of it, and I thought [pledging] would be the easiest way to make friends, besides joining the tennis team.”
Andrew admits he “needed some discipline” as a younger person, and he says Sewanee’s tennis program was helpful in structuring his days. “I was telling somebody the other day, I couldn’t imagine getting out of class and going to lunch, then not having anything to do.” He was able to keep “on the straight and narrow,” he says, thanks in large part to the influence of his coach, current Director of Athletics John Shackelford, P’24. “Shack emphasized being together as a team. He’d say, ‘After practice, we’re going to go to the locker room as a team. We’ll wait for the last person [to change clothes], then we’ll eat dinner together.’” In a sport that can feel laser-focused on individual achievements, “We seemed like a family,” Crone says.
Crone’s dedication to Sewanee tennis paid off—he was a four-year letterman, and he captained the team during his senior year. Additionally, he was selected as MVP for two years, and in his junior year, he was named to the all-conference team. Shackelford’s mentorship, he says, made the difference. “He was always there to lend a hand or an ear. He would do anything for us.”
Like many of his tennis teammates, Andrew was a member of Sigma Nu. Laura joined Theta Pi and lived in the sorority house for two years. The couple both held a range of leadership positions within the Greek system. Laura also participated in Big People for Little People, and she taught tap dancing to Sewanee preschoolers and kindergarteners—an activity that reunited her with Phoebe Pearigen, who continued to direct the Sewanee Dance Conservatory while also serving as a dance instructor in Sewanee’s Theatre Department. Though Laura didn’t participate in Perpetual Motion, the student-led Sewanee dance program created by Pearigen, she recalls occasionally assisting the organization with choreography. “I still keep in touch with the Pearigens,” she says. “They seem the exact same!”
The Crones also found mentors on Sewanee’s academic side. As an economics major, Andrew says he particularly enjoyed classes with former Assistant Professor of Economics John Bradbury. “The way my brain worked, I couldn’t get enough of his teaching style.” F.B. Williams Professor of Chemistry Emeritus John Bordley was another favorite. “I loved all of his classes, but especially the Science of Color,” Andrew says. “I give him a lot of credit because I went through some hard times [as a student], and he was always there.” For Laura, who majored in psychology, former Professor of Psychology Timothy Keith-Lucas, P’13, offered helpful career guidance. “He’s the person who introduced social work to me,” she says. “He said, ‘I think you should really consider it if you don’t want to get a Ph.D. in psychology immediately.’” After graduating from Sewanee, Laura earned a master’s of social work from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, while Andrew began a career in financial advising.
Though the Crones crossed paths a few times as students on the Mountain, they didn’t start dating until after Laura’s graduation in 2009. Andrew got to know Laura better, he says, through his friendship with her brother, David. Both music lovers, Andrew and David attended several indie rock concerts together after Andrew’s graduation, and Laura occasionally joined them. “I definitely had a crush on Andrew by the time I graduated,” Laura says. In early 2009, a tragedy brought the couple closer together—Laura’s close friend, Liz Rogers, C’09, passed away suddenly on campus from a heart condition, and Andrew reached out to Laura in sympathy. “Andrew understood the Sewanee bond and how awful it is to lose anyone you’re close to at Sewanee, but especially to lose a really good friend.” Three years later, the Crones married at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Little Rock, where Laura’s father served as rector.
Daily life keeps the Crones busy, but they make time to support a range of causes that are important to them. Laura is currently spearheading the Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s annual fundraiser, and she recently finished a three-year tenure on the vestry of St. Mark’s. The couple are both deeply involved with the Arkansas/West Tennessee chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation—their niece has CF but “is doing well, thanks to amazing research led by the foundation and the medications they’re coming up with,” Laura says.
The Crones began providing a recurring monthly gift to the Sewanee Fund soon after graduating, and, more recently, added a monthly gift to the men’s tennis program. Andrew says he appreciates how recurring giving makes philanthropy easy. “It’s out of sight, out of mind—like saving for your retirement.” In essence, recurring giving is a “positive habit,” says Whitney Franklin, director of the Sewanee Fund and advancement services. “To me, philanthropy is similar to exercising or eating healthy food. The more you engage in it, the more it becomes second nature.”
Last year, the Crones brought their two young sons, Charlie and George, to Sewanee for the first time. Laura says the boys were particularly delighted to eat at McClurg Dining Hall—so excited, in fact, “we wound up taking them there for three meals.” In a throwback to his days as social chair of Sigma Nu, when he helped book jam bands like Moon Taxi, Andrew has also started bringing Charlie and George to a few concerts—with mixed results. Not long ago, he says, “I took Charlie and George on a whim to see Old Crow Medicine Show.” At one point during the performance, “Charlie tapped me on the shoulder,” Andrew says, “and told me George was asleep.”
