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Keeping the Promise: The UW-Eau Claire Foundation's Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence campaign has established an infrastructure to support outreach efforts throughout the university. Various departments are learning that consistent communication and contact with their alumni yields results. Over the past few years, the geology department has focused on strengthening relationships with alumni through newsletters, alumni events in conjunction with professional meetings, inviting alumni back to campus as speakers and sponsoring other projects to keep alumni connected to the department. The geology department's efforts paid off recently when Greg Beckstrom, a 1984 geology graduate, and his wife, Julia (Weinstock) Beckstrom, a 1985 business graduate, established the first alumni-funded scholarship designated solely for outstanding students in geology. Greg Beckstrom, head of global marketing for Golder Associates in Minneapolis, used his connections with the geology department to establish a scholarship for geology majors. He also convinced his employer to contribute and lend its name to the scholarship. The Golder Associates Scholarship will be awarded for the 2006-07 academic year to an outstanding geology major with a strong academic record and financial need. Beckstrom attributes his long connection with the department as a motivation for establishing the scholarship. "I have always maintained contact with the UW-Eau Claire geology department," he said. "The department has also done a wonderful job of keeping me in touch with others via the departmental newsletter." Additionally, Beckstrom has participated in the department's Earth Science Lecture Series. After giving a presentation, he approached the department with the idea of setting up a student scholarship. "I have incredibly fond memories of my undergraduate experience," Beckstrom said. "As a residence hall adviser, I met my future wife, Julia, during a staff get-together. Both Julia and I feel strongly about helping UW-Eau Claire and were definitely thrilled to work with the department on the scholarship." While working with the UW-Eau Claire Foundation, Beckstrom learned that Julia's employer, Cargill, is a matching gift company, so the couple's initial gift of $1,000 has turned into $3,000 worth of scholarship funding. Kent Syverson, professor of geology, is responsible for coordinating many of the geology department's outreach activities and is the newsletter editor. He said that field trips to sites around the country are an important part of the geology curriculum, so geology majors face unique financial demands. The scholarship will help outstanding students financially so they can concentrate more on their academic success. "We are thrilled to receive this scholarship gift," Syverson said. "Gifts of this magnitude make a huge impact on department and students."
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