People give to people
Foundation support changing lives of
numerous students
The junior biology major cried when she
learned she had been awarded a George S. and Dolores Dore' Eccles Foundation
Scholarship for $1,900. Her mother passed away in 1996, and her father
has been struggling with watching his investments go down to nothing after
the Stock Market reaction to the September 11th tragedy.
Despite the hardships, this family remains very optimistic and has their
priorities in the right place. The student's father commented, "It
is better to invest in your children proactively (through education) rather
than reactively (if they get in trouble).
My daughter has been working 27 hours a week while maintaining a 3.87
GPA. We are grateful that the Eccles Foundation has provided this scholarship,
as it will help us tremendously."
Several years ago, the W. M. Keck Foundation donated $250,000 so SUU could
purchase undergraduate research equipment. Marsha Lundgren, Director of
Corporate and Foundation Support, praised the Keck Foundation for their
support. "I recently attended the 7th Annual SUU Biology Symposium
where undergraduate research students presented their projects. The student
next to me leaned over and told me how a water temperature datalogger
made a significant difference in the tide pool research project several
students conducted this year at La Jolla Beach, California. It was purchased
with Keck funds." Lundgren added, "The Keck grant has a ripple
effect where the undergraduate research equipment will be helping SUU
students for years and years to come."
In 1998, the Dr. W. C. Swanson Family Foundation set up a scholarship
endowment at Southern Utah University. The scholarships are awarded yearly
to rural, minority and/or non-traditional (over the age of 25) students.
One of the recipients this year was a 30-year old who struggled for years
with the tight reign of drug addiction. She was a high school dropout
whose world crashed around her the day she was arrested.
Determined to turn her life around, she earned her high school diploma
while incarcerated, then applied to SUU. "All of those years that
I spent in active addiction I really wanted to go to school and be somebody,
but didn't believe that I was smart enough or good enough. I cannot put
into words how much I truly despised myself." With help from the
Swanson scholarship, she now maintains a 3.8 GPA and is seeking a degree
in Psychology. She added, "Today, I really am living my childhood
dreams."
Numerous SUU students have benefited from "people giving to people"
through foundation support: single mothers go to school with scholarships
from the Gannett Foundation; the Sherratt Library buys books with money
donated from the Marriner S. Eccles Foundation; and first generation students
become the first college graduates in their families due to the generosity
of PacifiCorp Foundation for Learning, just to name a few.
An invitation...
The Development Office invites alumni and friends to think about important
ties you, your family or your employer may have with foundations. There
are still a myriad of ways to partner donor interests with our campus
needs, and we need your help to assist even more students with their academic
goals. Or, perhaps you have a tie with an individual, business, or corporation
that could help SUU students. We would love to hear from you! After all,
people give to people, and our students will greatly benefit from the
philanthropic investment!
Marsha Lundgren, Senior Gifts Officer, is Director of Corporate and Foundation
Support in the SUU Development Office and can be reached by calling (435)
865-8062 or by e-mailing Lundgren@suu.edu.
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