Ag Faculty Start Scholarships through Payroll Deduction

David and Pamela Hole wanted to make a difference in the lives of their students in the College of Agriculture, where David is a professor in the Plants, Soils and Biometeorology Department and Pam is a research technician in the Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences Department. Weldon Sleight, associate vice president and associate dean for Continuing Education, and his wife, Pauline, had a similar idea.

 

Neither couple had a large amount of money to fund a scholarship endowment, but each found a way to provide large dreams through small means using monthly payroll deductions.

 

David and Pamela created the David and Pamela Hole Scholarship Endowment by committing monthly deductions back in April 1997. The scholarship, intended for students majoring in crop science disciplines, will soon be awarded annually.

 

Weldon, former associate dean and Agricultural Systems Technology and Education faculty member, and Pauline started the Weldon and Pauline Sleight Scholarship Endowment with an initial gift of $5,000 in March 2001 and add payroll contributions each month. They look forward to the day when their fund will benefit ASTE students.

 

"I have invested a lot of my career in agricultural education and this seemed like an easy way, over time . . . to assist the students in ASTE," said Weldon. “Month by month this fund grows, and it's very satisfying to see this happen and know of the difference it will eventually make.”

 

David recommends this method of giving to others on campus. “The payroll deduction route was the easiest and most consistent way to do this, given the means that we have,” he said.