Allen County School District And WKU Announce Two New Scholarships; Lead Gift From Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation Key To The Partnership

February 24, 2009

Bowling Green, Ky. - A $1.475 million gift from the Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation will launch an important partnership among Western Kentucky University, the Allen County School District, and Allen County health and human service organizations.
           
Alex Downing, president of the College Heights Foundation at WKU, said $1.125 million of the gift will be used to create the Laura G. Turner Service First Scholarship Fund at WKU, while $350,000 will be used to create the Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation SKyTeach Fund.  A total of $250,000 of the gift for the SKyTeach Program will be matched by the National Math and Science Initiative, providing $600,000 for the SKyTeach Fund.  This will offer a total impact of $1.725 million for WKU and the Allen County School District.

Gift Details

Laura G. Turner Service First Scholarship Fund - $1,125,000
($1 million for scholarship endowment, $125,000 to immediately provide scholarships)

Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation SKyTeach Fund - $350,000

SKyTeach Match - $250,000

Total Impact  - $1,725,000

           
Downing said the Laura G. Turner Service First Scholarship Fund will provide $5,000 scholarships to WKU students who are graduates of Allen County-Scottsville High School and who are willing to be employed during the summer in a non-profit organization that provides direct service in Allen County.  As part of the scholarship program, the Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation will fund the summer salary.
           
“The scholarship program will begin with two incoming freshmen, and will add subsequent recipients each year,” Downing explained.  “The scholarships will be eligible for renewal for up to three additional years, provided the recipients meet the academic requirements and complete a six-week, 40-hour-per week, employment program at a non-profit providing direct service in Allen County.  The non-profits will be selected by the United Way of Southern Kentucky, and the service requirement must be met during the summers after the recipients’ freshmen and sophomore years in order for the scholarship to be renewed for the following year.”
           
WKU President Gary Ransdell said WKU’s SKyTeach concept came from one of 12 grants awarded by the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) to implement programs modeled after UTeach, a highly successful math and science teacher preparation program at The University of Texas at Austin.  Leadership support of the NMSI came through ExxonMobil, which contributed an initial $125 million to the project.
           
“WKU was the only institution in this region of the United States selected by NMSI for the five-year grant,” Dr. Ransdell said.  “A total of $1 million of the $2.4 million grant must be matched by private sources.  Replication of the UTeach program at WKU will not only address this region’s need for math and science teachers, but will serve all of Kentucky and the entire mid-south region.  The SKyTeach portion of the generous gift will provide scholarships for Allen County students who are interested in becoming science or mathematics teachers.”
           
Dr. Ransdell said that, through the years, the Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation has funded scholarship programs which have an empowering effect on the students who have benefited from this support. 
           
“Many of these students were the first in their families to go to college,” he said.   “Education has become a fundamental tenet of the Foundation’s mission.  The Laura G. Turner Service First Scholarship will encapsulate the Foundation’s strong commitment to education, as well as emphasize a commitment to help others through a work/study component with area-based non-profit organizations.”
           
Dr. Ransdell continued: “We are truly grateful that the Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation has chosen to support academic excellence through mathematics, science, and service.  They continue to be a strong and valued partner as we work to achieve our vision to be a leading American university with international reach.  We particularly appreciate the strong leadership of Laura Turner Dugas, who serves as the Foundation’s chair, and the commitment of the Foundation’s board to making higher education more accessible to youth in Allen County.”
           
The Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation, which focuses its efforts on Scottsville and Allen County, was established in 1989 in memory of Laura Goad Turner, the wife of Cal Turner Sr., one of the founders of Dollar General Corporation.  The Turners’ oldest daughter, Laura Turner Dugas, serves as chair of the Foundation.
              
“One of the very first commitments this Foundation ever made was in support of a nursing scholarship, named in honor of my mother, for Allen County students who attend Western Kentucky University,” Laura Turner Dugas said.  “From that experience, we know that the Allen County school system and WKU will be great partners in bringing these two new scholarships to life.”
           
Randall Jackson, superintendent of the Allen County School District, said the District is grateful to the Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation for its generosity in providing outstanding scholarship opportunities for Allen County-Scottsville High School students.  “Both the Laura Goad Turner Service First Scholarship Fund and the Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation SKyTeach Fund will help deserving students from our high school to attend Western Kentucky University in the pursuit of their academic dreams,” he said.
           
Dugas added:  “Being a SkyTeach designated university is a great compliment to President Ransdell and to his team at WKU, and our Foundation is delighted to help them meet the SkyTeach match.   We have already seen, first-hand, the contemporary approach that Superintendent Jackson and his staff take to incorporating technology into learning, making this program an ideal fit for the Allen County School District.
           
“The Laura G. Turner Service First Scholarship is something our Foundation’s board believes will create unique learning opportunities for students beyond the classroom. The requirement that scholarship recipients work for an Allen County non-profit during the summer has the potential to produce some of the most meaningful experiences of their college careers.  Helping young people get in touch with serving others is something my mother would have supported whole-heartedly.”
           
Rick Guillaume (WKU ’65) of Louisville, co-chair of WKU’s New Century of Spirit Campaign, expressed his appreciation to the Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation.  “This gift is truly a wonderful and important investment for the future education of Kentucky students at WKU,” he said.  “Once again, this gift is an accolade to the forward thinking that exists at WKU under the leadership of Dr. Ransdell.”

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/.

For more information, contact Alex Downing, (270) 745-5266.