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Alumnus leaves $200,000 estate gift RELEASED: Oct. 9, 2006 EAU CLAIRE - Scott Seawell, a leader in sales, marketing and product development in the communication industry and a 1984 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, has made a $200,000 estate gift to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation, permanently endowing a scholarship fund for UW-Eau Claire students majoring in computer science. Seawell, who died of leukemia in October 2005 at the age of 43, wanted others to have the opportunity for a college education at the university he loved. "Scott felt very strongly about education and wanted his gift to make a significant difference to deserving students," said Todd Seawell, Scott's brother. "Scott's positive spirit will live on through the scholarship," Todd said. "Scott was always a great role model and even as he fought his battle with leukemia he continued to teach me things. One thing I never heard him do was complain about his situation and that is something everyone can learn from." Seawell's gift supports two annual scholarships of $4,000, which will be awarded to students who are juniors majoring in computer science with a GPA of 3.5 and above and who demonstrate financial need. The scholarships are renewable if the recipients continue to perform well academically. Seawell's gift is recognized as a contribution to Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence, the UW-Eau Claire Foundation's ongoing comprehensive campaign to benefit UW-Eau Claire's people and programs. The scholarships will help students take advantage of an increasing demand for more computer science graduates, said Michael Wick, chair of the computer science department, and fellow classmate and friend of Seawell. "Based largely on media hype and the dot-com bust, student enrollments in computer science are falling nationwide," Wick said. "In contrast, with the recent turnaround in the economy, information technology employers are increasing demands for well-educated computer science graduates. The generous gift by Scott provides exactly the type of student scholarships that will enable our department to attract the quality and quantity of students necessary to meet our nation's growing need for IT professionals. It's a contribution which will live on in perpetuity."
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