The Troy University National Alumni Association has endowed the largest scholarship in its history.
The Alumni Board received donations from board members that exceeded its $50,000 goal for the Alumni Legacy Scholarship, completing the initial drive in three years prior to its deadline.
“The Alumni Board and the various local chapters consistently raise funds to endow new scholarships to aid our students,” said Bill Hopper, immediate Past-President of the board. “Perhaps one of the most important functions of the Association is fundraising to provide scholarships which promote enrollment, growth and retention of Troy University students.”
The endowment will provide scholarships to students who are qualified legacies of Troy University graduates who maintain at least a 2.7 GPA. “Legacies” are the children of alumni.
“Through the dedication and loyalty of the Board, the Chapters, and the great number of Alumni, scholarships will continue to grow and thrive,” said Roni Holley, National Alumni President. “The goal to serve our students and their needs of getting a much-deserved education, remains in force. I am very proud with the way the Board, Alumni and Chapters stepped up to the challenges, in spite of the world being a very different place.”
While board members each set personal fundraising goals, they also included methods for any alumni member to give, including adding a voluntary contribution of $2 to annual individual dues renewals earmarked for the scholarship.
The Alumni Board wasn’t the only group to endow scholarships in 2020, however. The Archer Alumni Chapter endowed a $25,000 scholarship, bringing the total number of chapter-endowed scholarships to six. Chapters that have previously completed endowments are the Alumni Band Chapter, the Clipson Chapter, Conecuh County Chapter, Elba Chapter and the Emerald Coast Chapter.
Chapters currently working on endowed scholarships haven’t been deterred by the oddities that 2020 brought their way.
Murder Creek Chapter, for example, teamed with a local restaurant to provide a discounted drive-through meal in exchange for contributions to their scholarship drive. Those contributions were over and above dues renewal.
Other chapters even managed to host golf tournaments amid the COVID crisis.
The Birmingham Chapter’s Al Lucas Scholarship, the T-Club’s Eric Mizell Scholarship, the Trojan Tailgaters, the Monroe County Chapter, the Pensacola Chapter, the Wiregrass Chapter, the Pike County Chapter, Autauga County Chapter, Murder Creek and the Elmore County Chapter all have endowed scholarship drives under way.
“The Alumni Association has always put an emphasis on scholarships but this year there was an even stronger conviction than ever to establish and endow scholarships while adding to existing ones. We thought it was important, especially during a pandemic, to assist our students in reaching their goals,” said Alumni Director Faith Byrd. “Also, these scholarships can only enhance the university’s goal of recruiting good students to TROY.”
For more information on these and other Alumni scholarships or to contribute please call the Office of Alumni Affairs at (334) 670-3318.
