UNIVERSITY COUNSELING CENTER TO RECEIVE $500,000
	ENDOWMENT TO CREATE SUICIDE-PREVENTION PROGRAM

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Nov. 23 -- A $500,000 pledge has been
made to the UniversityÕs Counseling Center by Lyell Clay, a West
Virginia businessman and University of Virginia benefactor.  
	The pledge, which will fund the creation of a model program
in suicide prevention, was announced today by President John T.
Casteen III, who said, ÒMr. ClayÕs generous and heartfelt gift goes
to the heart of the University -- directly to our students.  More
amazing is that he doesnÕt want to limit its impact to Virginia
students but hopes that through this program we will be able to
touch students on campuses nationwide.Ó 
	Clay was inspired to make the pledge in memory of his
lifelong friend and 1949 University graduate Harrison B. ÒTershÓ
Smith Jr. who died in 1957, just three years after receiving an
additional degree from the McIntire School of Commerce.  ÒTersh and
I were friends from the first year of our lives until his death,Ó
Clay said.  ÒI believe that anyone who knew him was better for the
association.  I hope that the Tersh Smith Counseling Center will
keep alive the memory of a fine friend. Through its programs -- and
especially the suicide prevention program -- Tersh Smith will
continue to touch the lives of others.Ó
	Clay has long wanted to pay tribute to his friend in a way
that would benefit todayÕs students. Earlier this year he began
discussions with the Counseling Center about how his gift could be
most effective.  In addition to the suicide prevention program, a
portion of the endowment income will be used to support a
counselor-expert in suicide prevention who could offer advanced
training to center staff as well as other University staff who
routinely work with students.  He envisions the University becoming
a leader in lecturing and training on the subject of suicide
prevention.  
	 The Counseling Center, a division of Student Affairs, was
founded in 1967 because the University believed that it had a vested
interest in helping its students.  Today it sees some 700 students a
year and offers individual and group counseling, outreach programs
on stress and depression, and a 24-hour emergency service. 
	James Clack, director of the Counseling Center, calls ClayÕs
commitment Òtruly extraordinary.  It is 100 times larger than any
private contribution that the center has ever received. More
important,Ó he added, Òis the giftÕs national significance and the
fact that, through it, we will be able to be a national model for
other institutions.  Mr. ClayÕs generosity will make a tremendous
difference to countless University of Virginia students, and I can
think of no more meaningful way to pay tribute to a friend.Ó
	Clay is retired chairman of Clay Communications, a media
company that operated newspapers and television stations in West
Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Texas.  He also is a
composer who created a vocal piece called ÒThe Noblest Cavalier,Ó
which was presented for the first time publicly in October during
the kickoff of The Campaign for the University of Virginia. 
	Clay and his brother Buckner W. Clay Jr., College Õ42,
previously made a $2 million gift to the Law School. In recognition
of their generosity, the Law School is naming the new Buckner Clay
Hall in memory of their father, a 1900 Law School graduate. 
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November 22, 1995