An endowment has been established at the Buckley Institute in honor of Terry Holcombe, a past Buckley board member.

Buckley Institute Announces the Terry M. Holcombe Memorial Fund

The Buckley Institute is pleased to announce the Terry M. Holcombe Memorial Fund, a new endowment established by Marya Holcombe, the widow of former Buckley Institute board member Terry M. Holcombe ’64. The fund will support lectures, debates, and similar programs on international affairs, including but not limited to Latin America. 

“We were honored by Terry’s service to the Buckley Institute as a board member and are doubly honored by his family’s dedication to Buckley even after his passing,” said Lauren Noble ’11, Buckley Institute Founder and Executive Director. “Though he was never far from our thoughts, this donation will keep him top of mind as generations of Yale undergraduates develop their own love of foreign policy thanks to his support. This generous donation is a true testament to Terry’s appreciation for Buckley and his belief in the longevity of its mission.” 

“Terry said that Buckley was the most well-run organization he had ever been involved with,” said Marya Holcombe and Kerry Auld, Terry’s wife and daughter respectively. “He believed in Lauren Noble completely and was very proud of the accomplishments of the Institute. More than anything, he enjoyed interacting with the broad-minded, forward-thinking and reflective Buckley Fellows, who gave him a renewed enthusiasm for the future of Yale, for higher education in general, for the United States, and for the world.”

“We chose the Buckley Institute to honor his legacy because, more than any other of the many organizations he had been involved in, he was most passionate about Buckley and its mission,” Holcombe and Auld continued. “We strongly agree with Terry’s belief that protecting free speech and encouraging civil discourse are the most important issues in the world today. We are grateful that we can continue to share the joy of interacting with the students—every interaction is a beacon of hope for the future.”

Terry grew up only a few miles from Yale where, as a senior, he was recruited to work at a non-governmental organization called ACCION, which provides grants and technical assistance for development projects in Latin America and around the world. His work brought him all over the region, including Peru, Brazil, and Venezuela. His work for ACCION sparked a lifelong interest in foreign policy and international relations, and this endowment’s programming honors this focus.  

Eventually, Terry found his way back to his New Haven and Yale roots. From his first day on campus in 1960 until his passing, Terry was first in line to volunteer to support the University and he was honored to have been employed by his alma mater in development and alumni affairs. “My father volunteered and worked for Yale in various capacities for over 60 years,” his daughter Kerry explained. “But he was probably most proud of his tenure as Vice President of Development and Alumni Affairs raising $1.7 billion during the ‘and for Yale’campaign in the 1990s which was, at the time, the largest amount ever raised by an educational institution.” This $500,000 endowment is the fourth the Buckley Institute has announced in the past year. Each generous contribution demonstrates the growing strength and impact that Buckley is having on free speech and intellectual diversity on Yale’s campus. 


A new endowment has been created in honor of Terry Holcombe, past board member of the Buckley Institute.

Terry Holcombe graduated from Yale College in 1964. From 1975 to 1998, he served Yale in various capacities, working directly for Presidents Brewster, Gray, Giamatti, Schmidt, Lamar, and Levin. He oversaw three successful capital campaigns during his 20 years as Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs. He was awarded the Yale Medal in 2011. He also served as vice president at Columbia University. Prior to his work at Yale, he was the executive director of ACCION, the first microfinance program in Latin America. His consulting activities after Yale reached from the American University in Cairo to several Ivy League colleges, and also included charities such as the Special Olympics International and Save the Children. He received an MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, an honorary MA from Yale, and an honorary PhD from Muskingum University.

Terry served on the Buckley Institute’s Board of Directors from February 2019 until his passing in June 2023.