Picking up course packets has become a philanthropic action this quarter.

A portion of all proceeds from Northwestern students’ course packets bought at Quartet Copies will go to the Dwight Conquergood Fund to establish an endowment for graduate student research in performance studies.

Quartet Copies co-owner Tom Miller said he was close friends with Prof. Dwight Conquergood, an associate professor of performance studies and former department chairman. Conquergood died of cancer in November.

“Dwight gave his life to helping others,” Miller said. “He loved Northwestern and if students can benefit from the fund, it will make his name and memory grow.”

Quartet Copies will decide at the end of the quarter what portion of the course packets will go towards the memorial fund, Miller said. He said course packet sales represent 20 percent to 25 percent of the store’s total sales.

He said that the price of course packets didn’t increase and Quartet Copies plans to continue to make these donations in the future.

In order to spread awareness of the fund, on each course packet sold there is an insignia on the back cover announcing that a portion of course-packet sales are donated to the fund.

Miller and Conquergood met 20 years ago when the professor came into Copycat of Evanston, where Miller used to work.

Conquergood was making a documentary of gang life at the time. Miller introduced him to family members he had in gangs.

Miller and Conquergood became friends and drove around Chicago so Conquergood could take pictures of gang insignia.

Miller said that Conquergood became personally invested in the people he studied and even cared enough to give money to gang members’ families.

Conquergood also studied Laotians and put a Laotian teenager through high school and college. The man is now an officer with the Chicago Police Department.

“Dwight fought for the underdog,” Miller said.

Miller made copies of the programs for Conquergood’s memorial service in January and found out about the Memorial fund from Alan Shefsky, a performance studies program assistant.

Quartet Copies has contributed to NU organizations before, but Miller said this donation means more to him than other causes because of his personal friendship with Conquergood.

E. Patrick Johnson, director of the graduate program in performance studies, said the donation from Quartet Copies will help fund graduate students’ research and research-related travel expenses.

Johnson said that in addition to being a valuable asset to NU’s performance studies department, Conquergood effected change in the field.

“Dwight was instrumental in changing the field of performance studies with ethnographic research,” Johnson said. “We can’t replace him. He’s one of a kind.”

Johnson said Quartet’s contribution reflects the impact Conquergood had, even outside of the performance studies department.

“This donation demonstrates how important Prof. Conquergood was to the community,” Johnson said.

Reach Diana Scholl at [email protected]