Pomona's longest-serving president, E. Wilson Lyon, guided the college through a transformational period from 1941 to 1969. Following the war, Pomona's enrollment rose above 1000, leading to the construction of several new residence halls and science facilities. Its endowment also grew steadily, due in part to the introduction in 1942 of a deferred giving fundraising scheme pioneered by Allen Hawley called the Pomona Plan, where participants receive a lifetime annuity in exchange for donating to the college upon their death. The plan's model has since been adopted by many other colleges.