Paul Smith’s College Will Get $20 Million, If It Changes Its Name

To administrators of the financially troubled college here, Joan Weill’s appearance on campus more than 20 years ago may have seemed like the arrival of a fairy godmother.  Mrs. Weill, the wife of the Wall Street billionaire Sanford I. Weill, did not graduate from the institution. But she apparently took a liking to it when she visited the unassuming Paul Smith’s College on the shore of Lower St. Regis Lake.  Now Mrs. Weill, the college’s most generous benefactor, has pledged a $20 million donation, one that the college president, Cathy S. Dove, says is critical to the school’s future.  But the gift comes with a controversial requirement. In accepting the money, the college’s board must agree to change the name to Joan Weill-Paul Smith’s College.