Sharon and Jed Ervin ’66 Make $1 Million Pledge

Dr. Jed Ervin ’66 and his wife, Sharon , committed the third sevenfigure gift of 2022, following those made by Lindsay & Matt Smith ’00 and The Goppert Foundation. Life-long advocates for Catholic education, the Ervins found themselves with the opportunity to “pay it forward” following the recent sale of Dr. Ervin’s research site.

“The influences that most shaped my early and subsequent life were my family and upbringing, my faith, and my education - the last of which was greatly impacted by my time at both Rockhurst and Notre Dame,” reflected Dr. Ervin. “I feel that who I became, and my subsequent opportunities in life were greatly influenced by those factors. And later, of course, my wife and family.”

Their hope is that this gift allows others, who might not otherwise be able to afford Rockhurst without financial assistance, to receive the same Rockhurst experience that he had been given.

“I am very thankful that Rockhurst was an option for educating my husband, brothers, brothers-in-law, son in-law, and now grandsons,” said Mrs. Ervin, herself a graduate of St. Teresa’s Academy. “Rockhurst has shaped their lives to be ‘men for others’. I am very grateful that Jed and I were able to make a donation to allow more students to attend.”

Their gift agreement established a scholarship that stipulates that the award is to be given each year to a Hurtado Scholars graduate attending Rockhurst High School, or to a student of minority racial background.

“My hope is that the recipients of this support will be presented the opportunity to receive the same Christian molding and superior education that was afforded to me, and to do so among a diverse population of students, reflecting the general population from a financial and ethnic standpoint,” added Dr. Ervin.