The estate of Lorene Thompson Brooks donated $4 million to MSU-West Plains to endow and expand the Corps of Opportunity and provide the athletic scholarships, according to a news release on the MSU-West Plains website.
Lorene Thompson Brooks was born Feb. 27, 1930, in Stotesbury, Mo. Her family moved to Koshkonong, Mo. in 1941. She graduated from Koshkonong High School in 1948 and attended Draughon Business University in Springfield.
Brooks, who died Dec. 20, 2010, in Texas, initially donated a collection of books belonging to her daughter, Deidre, who died in the 1990s, to the university, starting a relationship between Brooks and the campus.
The $4 million donation was the entirety of Brooks' estate, the university said. It's the largest gift ever given to the MSU system, according to Drew Bennett, MSU-West Plains chancellor.
The Corps of Opportunity Program brings on-campus work opportunities and scholarships together as a way for students to gain financial assistance to cover education costs. The program largely is designed to address unmet financial needs regardless of benefits received from government programs. Students work on-campus jobs as a means of paying for their education under the program.
“As we focus on access to higher education for all students, financial aid becomes increasing important,” Missouri State University Interim President Clif Smart said in the release. “The need-based scholarships this fund will provide for West Plains students may very well mean the difference between a student getting a college degree and not. That is the significance of this gift. It will have a positive impact on students’ lives.”
The gift is part of Our Promise: The Campaign for Missouri State University; more on that campaign can be found at www.ourpromise.missouristate.edu.
