Category: Impact of Gifts

When looking at colleges, Jackson Atwood had plenty of reasons to choose Eastern. When you get to know this talented wheelchair basketball player, you will have 30,000 reasons to support EWU Adaptive Athletics.   Reason #1 – Meet Jackson Atwood: His parents are EWU alumni and his grandfather, Robert, was a professor here. Atwood earned Running…

“As proud Eastern alumni (’69), we remain committed to helping students, especially through the Kathy (Iverson) Privratsky Scholarship Endowment benefitting students in Communication Sciences and Disorders. By gifting our required minimum IRA distributions, we help others while reducing taxable income. It is a great way to give back to our university.” – Ken and Kathy…

“I’ve worked hard and succeeded. Now it’s time to give back to a profession that I love – and to make a difference for future dental hygienists,” says Diane McHenry, longtime Eastern professor who recently gifted $50,000 to Eastern to create an endowed scholarship. McHenry, who helped establish the EWU Department of Dental Hygiene and…

Barbara Shields, ’92, is creating a legacy that will light a path for Eastern Eagles for generations to come. She earned her degree after a successful career in the telecom industry, then began giving back to EWU. She established the Barbara R. Shields Graduate Fellowship Endowment and the Barbara R. Shields Undergraduate Scholarship. Since 2008,…

EWU student Ryan Poynter called hundreds of alumni, parents, employees and friends of Eastern from the Telefund Call Center to thank donors and ask for gifts. He understands the importance of alumni giving back to help students succeed. Last year, the 2015 alumnus called EWU’s Development Office to establish the Poynter Scholarship. When endowed at…

Felix Mutschler began teaching geology at Eastern Washington State College in 1969, and continued sharing his knowledge with colleagues and students throughout retirement years. After Professor Mutchler’s death in 2000, EWU’s Department of Geology faculty and staff established the Felix E. Mutschler Memorial Scholarship Fund. Chels Howard, who dreams of becoming a college geology professor,…

Eagle football safety Anthany Smith earned All-Big Sky Conference first team honors and EWU defensive MVP. The business management major balances a full class schedule, a rigorous study, practice, training and volunteer regimen, leaving no time for an outside job. Smith is grateful for a life-changing full scholarship for his senior year. “It just felt good…

Through giving, Professor Emeritus Gene Engene continues his life’s work of encouraging and training performing artists. His gift to the Theatre Showcase Angel Scholarship helps recruit students to EWU’s theatre major. Because senior-level students often run out of money and drop out just short of earning their degrees, Engene also donated to the Bryan Jackson…

Alora Caillier, of Oak Harbor, Washington, juggled three years of full-time undergraduate studies with 30-plus hours a week of working in restaurants and as a caregiver. Caillier, an, EWU senior on a pre-law track, received the Aretas and Kittiemae Dayton Education and Economics Scholarship. The award allows her to work 20 hours a week in…

Mike Mumford, ’81, has generously challenged the EWU community to match his $30,000 gift – making their gifts go twice as far – to support the Adaptive Athletics Program Fund. “I want the match to motivate others to give,” Mumford said. “The program needs the money, and it supports mostly local kids in a rare…