All Roads Lead to Student Financial Support

Annual Fund Gifts: Helping Twins (and Others) Excel

Aboriginal culture is more than just interesting textbook material to psychology major Betsy Rice ’04. She experienced aboriginal life firsthand during the Australia overseas study program in 2002.

“I had always dreamed of studying abroad,” says Betsy, “and financial support from Lewis & Clark made it a reality. Basically, without the support of the alumni community, many of the things that brought me here—like exceptional faculty and overseas study—wouldn’t exist.”

Each year, contributions to the Annual Fund help sustain these and many other programs that define excellence in education. More than 70 percent of the fund annually goes toward student financial aid. 

Betsy’s twin, Mary Jane Rice ’04, puts it plainly. “Without the financial support I receive from Lewis & Clark, I wouldn’t be able to attend college.” Studying at Lewis & Clark has enabled Mary Jane to immerse herself in Hispanic and Latin American studies and varsity basketball. The twins also play varsity volleyball, and both have been leaders for the College’s Sock and Shoe Drive and Student Alumni Association.

Betsy and Mary Jane will be graduating soon, but others need the same kind of financial assistance that has helped them succeed. Lewis & Clark is working to raise $1,275,000 for the Annual Fund this academic year. As of January 23, contributions from alumni, parents, and friends equaled 42.3 percent of our goal. We need your help to achieve 100 percent.

Restricted Gifts: Scholarships in Honor of Faculty

Robert Dusenbery devoted his life to students and to Lewis & Clark. He was a professor of English at the College from 1949 until his retirement in 1984. During that time, he was integral to the development of the English department and the humanities program. He died in 2002.

“What made my father a great teacher was his intellectual curiosity and his ability to bring knowledge from so many areas to investigate what he saw as the big issues: truth, beauty, and goodness,” says Verne A. “Van” Dusenbery, Robert’s son and professor of anthropology and chair of global studies at Hamline University. Van and other members of the Dusenbery family created the Robert Dusenbery Memorial scholarship for students in the humanities to honor Bob’s memory.

Leon Pike, a contemporary of Bob Dusenbery’s who died in 2000, is also honored by a Lewis & Clark scholarship. He was an associate professor of theatre at Lewis & Clark from 1969 until his retirement in 1987. Pike is remembered by alumni for his mastery of stagecraft and scene design. He often invited students to pinochle parties at his Capitol Hill home.

“Leon was devoted to his students, who he said were the most delightful people in the world. He ran the theatre scene shop with a genial authority,” says Edgar Reynolds, professor emeritus of theatre and former department chair. 

When Pike retired in 1987, the theatre department began awarding the Leon Pike/Edgar Reynolds Scholarship to honor Pike’s numerous contributions. The scholarship also recognizes the leadership and teaching of Reynolds, who retired from the College in 1995. The Pike/Reynolds Scholarship is presented each spring to students in theatre, with preference for those pursuing Pike’s passions of design and technical theatre.

These are just two of the College’s 15 scholarships named for faculty members. Each scholarship provides alumni with an opportunity to honor those professors who guided their education and to help current students benefit from the same high-quality teaching they received at Lewis & Clark.