By Rebecca Hightower
Rob Dial and Greg Benda
Just three years after launching a successful fundraising effort to collect $25,000 for an endowment to support scholarships for students of University of West Georgia alumni, the UWG Alumni Association has committed to doubling the endowment to $50,000.
In August of 2012 under the leadership of then association president Rob Dial, the UWG Alumni Association Board of Directors established the Alumni Legacy Scholarship Fund, a $25,000 endowment to support scholarships for students of UWG alumni, with a lead gift by alumnus Rob Dial and his wife, Emily Dial, an alumna of UWG. The funds were set to be raised in a period of five years, but the enthusiastic fundraising efforts of the alumni association met that goal two years earlier than expected.
On surpassing the fundraising timeline, former President of the Alumni Association Greg Benda reflected, “This scholarship represents a huge commitment for the alumni community and the University. It establishes a foundation of ongoing support that the Alumni Association President Cindy Saxon will continue to build in the coming years.”
This is the second student-centered endowment created by the UWG Alumni Association with a focus on student success and enhanced student experience. Rob explained the importance of committing to the scholarship: “I believe that the purpose of service and leadership is to make an impact and leave things better than you found them. My hope is that my fellow UWG Alumni will find the Alumni Legacy Fund an easy way to make a significant impact.”
“So many members of the Alumni Association share the same experiences in having met lifelong friends or even their spouses during their time at UWG,” said Rob. “The bond created at UWG is incredibly unique and to be able to lead an effort to allow the next generation to have those same experiences is exciting.”
A committee from the UWG Alumni Association Board of Directors will annually award the scholarship to a UWG legacy student, which is defined as a child of an alumna or alumnus of the University of West Georgia, including graduates of West Georgia College and the State University of West Georgia. The applicant must also be an incoming undergraduate student with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and must meet all requirements for admission to UWG. The applicant must enroll as a full-time student and submit an essay to illustrate the impact and importance of receiving scholarship assistance.
“The University of West Georgia has given each of us so much: friendships, memories, spouses, and a place to find our passion,” said Rob. “It is our obligation to help the next generation share in those same experiences and those that we can’t yet imagine.”
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Posted: May 15, 2015
