WSCC President’s Report 2010-2011 Future Foundation and Alumni Association
Foundation honors Dr. Garlan Gudger, Wallace State’s first Dean of Students. The scholarship was spearheaded by Rep. Jeremy Oden in recognition of Gudger’s outstanding leadership, long service and support of Wallace State. Oden first announced his intention to start the endowed scholarship honoring Dr. Gudger at the Foundation’s annual luncheon auction last year, having previously established a scholarship to benefit graduates of the College’s GED program. He presented an initial donation of $5,000 for Gudger scholarship to the Foundation’s Board of Directors at their quarterly meeting this spring. That donation was matched by a $5,000 donation in June from Rep. James Fields. These funds will be matched dollar for dollar through the endowment grant from Wallace State’s U.S.
Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions project, for a total of $20,000 toward the endowment already. “I wanted to do something to recognize Dr. Gudger’s service,” said Oden. “An endowed scholarship is something that will positively affect many lives from this point on. There is no greater expression of who Dr. Gudger is than to do something that shows what he’s done as a leader and mentor to so many students.” Oden hopes to see the endowment for the Gudger scholarship grow to $50,000 over the next year, and for the first scholarships to be awarded next fall. Billy Jackson, Future Foundation president, thanked Oden for the donation and for all he has done to help students in the communities he serves. “This is one of the best uses of tax money you are ever going to
Rep. Jeremy Oden with the Gudger family following his announcement of plans to establish the scholarship honoring Dr. Garlan Gudger, Sr. at the 2010 Wallace State Future Foundation’s Student Investment Luncheon.
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find,” he said. “As long as we’re here and Wallace State is here, kids in this area are going to benefit from it.” Dr. Gudger and the Gudger family are currently working with the Future Foundation to establish criteria for the scholarship. His wife Dot was the first instructor at Wallace State, hired in 1966 to teach business. Their daughter Jill Gudger Howell has also taught at the College, and their children Joy Gudger Barker and Garlan Gudger, Jr., attended classes for transfer credit. Dr. Gudger served as Wallace State’s Dean of Students from 1972 to 1996 after receiving a Ph.D. in Junior College Administration from Middle Tennessee State University. Having previously served as a football coach at West Point, Fairview, and Cullman, he had a unique way of commanding respect and establishing rapport with students. “What makes me feel good, and gives me the greatest satisfaction still, is knowing that I really helped that kid,” Dr. Gudger said. Looking back on his time at Wallace State, Gudger said the many individual stories, the students he encouraged to finish a program or to complete a degree or to keep trying, and those who were successful even when they weren’t sure they would