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Anonymous alumni couple make $1 million estate gift
to benefit teachers of tomorrow

RELEASED: Nov. 20, 2003

EAU CLAIRE — An anonymous alumni couple has named the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Foundation as the sole beneficiary of their $1 million estate, designating that the gift be used to create an endowed scholarship fund for high-achieving UW-Eau Claire education students.

“We are grateful to these donors, both UW-Eau Claire education graduates, for their generosity,” said Carole Halberg, UW-Eau Claire Foundation president. “We also are honored that through this university they will leave their legacy by encouraging high-achieving students to become tomorrow's teachers.”

Both donors have been teachers, Halberg said. They have seen firsthand the important influence that teachers have in students' lives, and they are troubled that relatively low teaching salaries cause many of today's top university students to pursue other professions, she said.

“This generous gift is an investment that will yield many significant returns by assisting highly qualified students to become outstanding teachers in the future,” said Katherine Rhoades, associate dean of the School of Education. “I can think of no better way of honoring and perpetuating these donors' lifelong contributions to the field of education.”

Halberg noted that one donor was the first in her family to earn a college degree and both worked to support themselves through school, so the criteria for scholarship recipients will include status as a first-generation college student and evidence of employment in addition to a minimum 3.0 grade-point average.

“Their gift, when realized, will support students whose lives are much like the lives of the donors when they attended UW-Eau Claire and who, like the donors, find teaching to be a calling,” Halberg said.