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Former Fort Lewis College provost creates scholarship for future teachers

Stephen Roderick wants to help student-athletes
Celebrating the endowment of a scholarship by former Fort Lewis College Provost Steve Roderick, second from right, are, from left, former Dean Linda Schott, Dean Maureen Brandon and former Dean Gary Linn. The scholarship will be used primarily to help student-athletes complete student teaching.

Stephen Roderick’s career at

Earlier this month, Roderick finished endowing a scholarship in his name that will help students working toward licensure as a teacher at the elementary, secondary or K-12 level. Preference will be given to varsity student-athletes who have a 3.0 GPA.

“Between their sport and other schoolwork, student-athletes may not have time to do the student teaching necessary to earn their degree during their playing days,” he said. “Let’s help them out.”

The idea of the scholarship and who it will benefit makes sense to him, FLC spokesman Mitch Davis said.

“I’ve gotten to know a number of Skyhawk student-athletes over the years,” he said, “and I always marvel at how busy they are. Up early, classes all morning, practice in the afternoon to the evenings, then homework. When they travel for games, they have to work out a schedule for tests with their professors. That’s not even counting a job or other extracurriculars.”

Roderick began his career at FLC as a professor in the Teacher Education program, eventually becoming the department chairman. He began building his scholarship with payroll deductions during his 30 years at the college, Davis said.

“For anyone considering giving,” Roderick said, “endowing a fund is a way to ensure that your contribution will live on for the long term.”

A scholarship fund is considered fully endowed when it reaches $25,000, said Sandy Jameson, Fort Lewis College Foundation scholarship manager. In recent years, endowments have been earning about 4 percent annually, meaning $1,000 can be awarded each year. The larger the endowment, the more funding it provides for students.

“A person could give enough money to endow a fund all at once,” Davis said, “or they can start a fund and build it up over time, like Steve did. Either way, an endowed fund means that students will be benefiting for years to come.”

The need for scholarships became obvious during all the budget meetings he attended at the college over the years, Roderick said. In the 2015-16 school year, the foundation awarded more than $350,000 to 350 students. In addition to the foundation’s scholarships, funding is also available from the college itself, alumni and various departments.

“Look, this is important for our students,” Roderick said. “We can’t fund all the scholarships we’d like from the college’s general fund.”

abutler@durangoherald.com

To donate

To donate to the Stephen A. Roderick Endowed Scholarship Fund at Fort Lewis College, visit

www.fortlewis.edu/makeagift

.

To create an endowed scholarship, contact Sandy Jameson at the FLC Foundation at 247-7121.



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