"Loyal support paves the way for an even stronger Lafayette. We couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this important effort to ensure that the College continues to advance."

John & Carolyn Pierce ’81
Chairs, Fleck Consistent Giving Society

Alumni who make financial gifts for five or more consecutive years qualify for membership in the Fleck Consistent Giving Society, named in honor of the late Cyrus S. Fleck Sr. ’20, a longtime Lafayette supporter and trustee. Members are recognized with engraved bricks along the walkway from Markle Hall across the Quad to Colton Chapel. More than 2,300 alumni were recognized in the initial 10-year class and their bricks serve as an inspiration to the campus community and visitors alike.

The Fleck Consistent Giving Society currently includes more than 7,400 members — an increase of more than 75 percent since it was established in 2005. Young alumni also have an opportunity to become members of the Fleck Society. Members of the 10 most recent graduating classes are inducted after three years of consistent giving, and those who reach the five-year mark receive their engraved brick on the Quad.

An active presence at Lafayette for more than three-quarters of a century, Cyrus Fleck served as a member of the board of trustees for 47 years and was the inaugural recipient of the Lafayette Medal for Distinguished Service. At the time of his death in 2000, 12 days before his 101st birthday, he was the College’s oldest living alumnus. The service of Fleck’s son, the late Cyrus S. Fleck Jr. ’52, to Lafayette also is remarkable. His career at the College spanned 44 years, including 32 years as registrar.

Fleck Society members are also recognized in the annual Summary of Giving and Volunteer Participation. If you would like to check your progress toward membership, or need help with locating your brick on campus, please contact the Lafayette Annual Fund at 610.330.5034 or email fund@lafayette.edu.

Here are some frequently asked question about Fleck brick

How will my name appear on my brick?  

Each brick is engraved in uppercase English characters on three lines – first name, last name, and class year. Space is limited to 18 maximum characters per line. (Including spaces, punctuation, letters and numbers.) Following these guidelines ensures that your brick will be consistent with the others that are already on the Quad.

Will I have a chance to approve how my name will appear?

Before ordering new bricks each year, the Annual Fund will email all donors who are eligible to receive a brick with a proof of how their name will appear. This notification will include instructions on requesting revisions, and it will include all applicable deadlines for that particular year. If no email address is on-file, then the Annual Fund will attempt to call and/or mail all eligible donors. Unsuccessful attempts to contact donors about their brick, and failure to respond with requested revisions by the established deadline, will be considered non-responses and those bricks will be engraved according to the default naming conventions outlined in this guide.

Nobody knows me by my full first name. Can I substitute my preferred first name to be engraved onto the brick?

Yes, we can change your full first name to your preferred first name. Please email us before June 30 of the year that you have made your qualifying gift, and we will note the change on our order form. Please note that your preferred first name is not a nickname, and all requests to engrave any name on a brick will be reviewed and by the Annual Fund team.

My first and/or last name is very long, and I am concerned that it won’t fit onto the brick. What can be done?

The engraver uses a consistent font size and style for all of our bricks, and the character limit per line is 18 (including spaces, punctuation and letters). If your first and/or last name exceeds this limit, please contact us directly to discuss your options. Please email us before June 30 of the year that you have made your qualifying gift.

There is someone in my class with the same name as me. Can I have my middle initial engraved on my brick to avoid confusion?

Our policy is to not engrave bricks with middle names or initials, but we understand that multiple alumni may have the same name within the same class. If you share the same name with one of your classmates, but have a different middle initial, we will certainly make an exception to avoid any confusion and to give you the recognition that you deserve. Please be sure to email us before June 30 of the year that you have made your qualifying gift, and we will note the exception in our records.

Instead of engraving my married name on my brick, can I request that my maiden name be used? Can I have both my maiden name and my married name on my brick?

Our default policy is to engrave your preferred last name that is on file with the College. If space permits, you can have both your maiden name and married name on your brick. Due consistent font size and styles across all bricks, we are unable to list multiple last names if the total number of characters (letters, spaces, punctuation, etc.) is greater than 18. If the combined name exceeds this limit, then we can certainly engrave one name or the other. Please email us with your preference before June 30 of the year that you have made your qualifying gift.

May I list a prefix or suffix with my professional degree and/or military rank?

We appreciate the professional and academic achievements of our alumni, and we are grateful to those who served our nation in its armed forces; however, our policy is to not include professional or military abbreviations on the Fleck Consistent Giving Society bricks.

Is it possible to engrave multiple names onto the brick?

Sorry, but our policy is to have one donor name engraved on each brick. Married alumni couples share a giving history from the point at which they became married. More often than not, both alumni spouses will receive a brick at/around the same time, provided the combined consistent giving record is maintained without interruption.

My name contains an accent mark to indicate pronunciation in its language of origin. Is it possible to engrave these marks on the brick?

Our engraver works with a particular font that is only available in uppercase English lettering. It is not possible at this time to engrave any special characters, other than uppercase English letters and numbers in this font.

I recently changed my legal name, and I would like to change the engraving on my brick. Is that possible?

Please email us with your name and class year, and a brief description of why you are making this request, and we will be happy to assist you. Replacements of this nature will occur around the same time as the new brick installation each summer, but the timing of the installation will depend upon when we receive your request.

Can I request that my brick be located next to someone else’s brick?

We understand that you may want your brick to be located next to your spouse, family member or friend; however, we cannot guarantee the proximity of one brick to another for several reasons. The list is submitted to the engraver in a random order so that each year’s installation does not stand out as its own section among groups of ordered bricks. Once engraved, the bricks are loaded onto a pallet in another random order, shipped to campus, and removed from the pallet in a random order by the installation company. Finally, bricks are installed on either side of the walkway around the Quad, and sometimes in multiple sections of the walkway, so there is ultimately no guarantee that we can honor any requests of this nature.

May I purchase a brick to be installed on the Quad, or to keep a souvenir?

Sorry, but these bricks are to only recognize members of the Fleck Consistent Giving Society. This recognition is based on a donor’s giving record each year, and does not consider any cumulative giving or other criteria. As such, the only way to be honored in this way is to continue your consistent giving to Lafayette each year.

I am a member of the Fleck Consistent Giving Society. Why don’t I have a brick?

Membership in the Fleck Consistent Giving Society is recognized after you have made gifts in 5 (or 3, for young alumni) consecutive fiscal years. This is a different level of recognition than earning a brick with your name on it. We honor your consistent giving with a brick after you have made gifts in 10 (5, for young alumni) consecutive fiscal years.

What qualifies me as a young alumni?

We define young alumni as those who have not yet celebrated their 10th Reunion by the start of each fiscal year. (For example, in fiscal year 2020 the young alumni classes are 2010-2019.) Young alumni donors are eligible to join the Fleck Consistent Giving Society with their 3rd consecutive year of giving, and are eligible to receive their brick with their 5th consecutive year of giving. All qualifying gifts to join the Fleck Society or to earn a brick must be completed while the donor is a young alumnus/a. Otherwise, they will lose their status and must achieve 5 and 10 years of consecutive giving to join the Fleck Society and earn a brick, respectively.

I have made gifts to Lafayette in the right number of consecutive calendar years. Why am I ineligible to receive a brick?

We appreciate your continued support! Lafayette’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30 each year, so it’s possible that you have made gifts in consecutive calendar years but missed the window to make a gift during a fiscal year. Please contact us directly so that we can take a closer look at your giving history to see where the gaps are.

My "consecutive years of giving" streak should be longer than what's shown on my record. Is there a way to check my giving history?

As it relates to a consecutive giving streak, this number only reflects consecutive gifts made since the Fleck Consistent Giving Society was established. The first bricks were installed in 2005, and factored in the ten previous years of giving. While we may only reference your consecutive giving information for this time, your entire giving record to the College is accurate and confidential. If you suspect that there is still an error between the number we have communicated to you in a recent email, please contact us directly so that we can take a closer look at your giving history.

My alumni-spouse and I have our giving records combined. Why am I eligible to receive a brick but they are not?

It is possible that we may not know that you are married, so please be sure to notify us and update your records with the College. Once your records are updated in our system to show that you are married, the combined giving (whether you or your spouse gives) is what is used to calculate both of your giving records. We do recognize both alumni-spouses with individual bricks, provided that you have been married and giving to Lafayette for each of the years that make you eligible to receive a brick. If you’d like to verify any of this, please contact us directly and we’ll take a closer look.

I missed a year of giving. What happens to my status in the Fleck Consistent Giving Society, and how does that affect my progress to earning a brick?

Missing a year of giving resets your consecutive giving count to zero. If your donor’s count resets to zero while you are considered a young alumnus/a, you must be on pace to earn your brick by the end of the fiscal year of your 10th Reunion. Otherwise, you will be counted as a member of our general alumni population. If you believe that there is an inaccuracy in your giving record as we have it, please email us with your name and class year and we will be happy to take a closer look.

What happens if I don’t continue to give once I’ve earned my brick?

As one of the College’s most consistent and loyal donors, we hope that you continue to make your gift each year after your brick has been installed. Missing a year does not cause you to lose your brick, but it does cause your membership in the Fleck Consistent Giving Society to lapse from year to year. During this time, we will continue to keep your brick in its place on the Quad even if you’re a non-donor, and we hope that you will continue to support Lafayette again in the future.

I visited my brick and noticed that is misspelled, damaged, or the lettering is unreadable due to wear and tear. Can it be repaired?

Thank you for visiting campus and locating your brick! We apologize for the condition you found it in, and we will work with you to replace it. Please email us with your name and class year and general details about the damage to your brick, and we will be in touch with an update and next steps. Our replacement bricks are installed at the same point in the summer as the new bricks, so we appreciate your patience throughout this process.

I am returning to campus soon. How can I find my brick?

Please visit our online brick locator to find your brick. This platform will show you what your brick looks like, and provide you with step by step directions to it on the Quad. If you need further assistance, please contact the Annual Fund office and we’ll be happy to help you out.

Do you have a question that isn't answered here?

Please email us and we’ll respond to you as quickly as possible, or call the Annual Fund office during normal business hours at (610) 330-5034.