Over the past several months, officials at Missouri State University have been working to raise money for the Dr. Alice Bartee Endowment. As KSMU’s Theresa Bettmann reports, thanks to the contributions of many, and a recent gift of $25,000, the project is off to a great start.
http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/contributions-endowment-honoring-former-msu-professor-tops-50000_66762.mp3
Few professors carry a legacy like Dr. Alice Bartee. She was the first woman at Missouri State to receive full professorship. Those who knew her best, or were one of her students, considered her a mentor, an advocate and a pioneer.
MSU President Cliff Smart, recently offered a $25,000 raise by the Board of Governors, gifted that amount to the Bartee Endowment. Smart says he had the pleasure of knowing Bartee and continues to hear countless stories from the students she has personally impacted over the years.
“You know, Alice Bartee was one of the great professors that we had at Missouri State. She impacted as many students here as any professor here has. We [my wife and I] have made two gifts. The first was to help endow a speaker series to bring really high quality speakers on campus. The second is to provide scholarships for students under her name,” Smart says.
Dr. George Connor, department head of political science at MSU, is leading the effort to raise funds for the scholarship. He says President Smart’s gift has greatly grown the endowment created earlier this year.
“Because of President Smart’s generous donation, the Alice Bartee Endowed Scholarship now has, in cash and pledges, has reached the $50 thousand dollar mark. We are extra grateful for the generosity of President Smart and his wife Gail. It says a lot about the department, but it really says a lot about Alice Bartee and what she meant to this university,” says Connor.
Connor adds that Bartee “looked after her students, one student at a time.” He says it is because of this philosophy that many of her past students have given to the endowment.
Another honor marking Bartee’s legacy will be the addition of her name on the MSU Wall of Fame later this fall. Click here for a link to more information about the Dr. Alice Fleetwood Bartee Endowment .
Click here to read previous story about the Bartee Endowment
Click here for the story about Dr. Alice Bartee featured during Women's History Month
