UW/CC Center Receives Generous Endowment from Myra Fox Skelton Foundation

Myra Fox Skelton Foundation board member Don Chapin addresses the attendees at the scholarship luncheon, while UW/CC Center director Brent Pickett and scholar Ashley Hayden look on. The luncheon is an annual celebration of the generous scholarship given to single parents by the Myra Fox Skelton Foundation, which recently increased its funding to a $250,000 endowment matched by state funds.

The Myra Fox Skelton Foundation recently increased its funding for single parents earning a degree through the University of Wyoming/Casper College (UW/CC) Center. A $250,000 endowment was established and matched by state funds to help qualified students in central Wyoming meet their educational goals while caring for their families and serving the community.

"The endowment insures permanence to the scholarship program," said Brent Pickett, associate dean and director of the UW/CC Center. "It ties to our mission here at UW/CC helping site-bound students, many of whom are parents, earn their degrees."

Since 2000, the Myra Fox Skelton Foundation has awarded more than 80 awards to 55 different students, supporting single parents across a broad range of programs. The funding has increased over time, from $36,000 its first year to the current endowment.

"This endowment is by far the largest received for the UW/CC Center, and we are very grateful for the generous support that the Foundation has shown our students," said Carol Tarantola, senior lecturer of communication at the UW/CC Center and chairperson of the UW/CC Center scholarship committee.

The students who receive the awards are also very grateful for the assistance.

Stephanie Martin, an English major and one of 15 award recipients last year, said, "The whole point is to help you still be there for your family in the little and big ways that matter so much. We all appreciated that others cared about our dedication to our education and really, that they invested in us as students."

"Without the scholarship, I would not be going to school," said Christopher Neubauer, a journalism major at the UW/CC Center and the first male recipient in nine years. "I would need to work all the time to take care of my daughter, Hazel. Now I get to earn my degree and spend a lot more time with her. It's been great!"

The benefits of the Myra Fox Skelton scholarships are evident in the success of the scholars after graduation. Cheryl Mandich, a 2007 graduate in biology, is now seeking a master's degree in zoology and physiology while working in the field.
"My lifelong goal of becoming a wildlife biologist was made possible by the scholarship," said Mandich. "The award provided the major means of financial support for my daughter and me during the school year. It allowed me to take on summer and fall jobs that not only introduced me to my field, but provided the opportunity for networking with professionals in my future career area. This networking eventually led to funding for my master's degree which I am currently working on. There is no way I could have achieved what I have, and reached my goal of becoming a wildlife biologist, had it not been for this scholarship."

Casper attorney Don Chapin, the sole remaining board member from the original Foundation started in 1986, enjoys being able to help local students succeed.

"We get as much pleasure and joy from spending Myra's money as the recipients do receiving it," he said. "We have a good, solid relationship with the UW/CC Center, and I'm pleased to shepherd money into programs which would have pleased Myra."

John Miracle, financial adviser and member of the Foundation's board of directors, is excited about the opportunity that the state's matching funds afford the scholarship. With double the funds, the Foundation can increase the amount of income from the endowment given to students.

"It's great to do something that impacts somebody's life," said Miracle. "If we get them over the hump, to where they can say ‘I'm going to be okay, my kids are going to be okay,' that's the whole point of it."

Other members of the Foundation's board of directors include Wells Fargo Bank trustee Serena Cobb, attorney Charlie Chapin, C.P.A. Rick Mason, and philanthropist Susie Scott.

UW provost and vice president for academic affairs Myron Allen commented, "Thanks to the generosity of the Myra Fox Skelton Foundation, many hard-working single parents, for whom college would otherwise be an impossible dream, now have access to a bachelor's degree."

Outreach School dean Maggi Murdock noted that students receiving funds have "more time with their children, more time to study, and more time to share their talents with the Casper community through volunteer service. We are all beneficiaries of the Myra Fox Skelton Foundation's generous and continuous gift."

"Talking with Maggi (Murdock) about 10 years ago, I was touched by the needs of single parents trying to improve themselves," said Don. "That's when we decided to begin funding single parents."

With appreciation for the recent endowment, the UW/CC Center will continue to distribute these funds for many years to come.
 

Posted on Thursday, June 25, 2009