While their reasons may be different, OMA&D staff members Jan Kendle, Emile Pitre, and Ann Vu Loveridge have a common mission. They have established or are contributing to endowed scholarships that benefit UW students.
Kendle is honoring her mother’s passion for teaching. Pitre is being acknowledged for his long-time service at the OMA&D Instructional Center (IC), while also supporting student tutors who impact the educational experience of their peers. Vu Loveridge is paying tribute to her parents who taught her to value education. And all three are doing their part to create a better life for the next generation.
Kendle, OMA&D assistant vice president of administration, has established the Ruth Kendle Family Endowment in memory of her mother, Ruth C. Kendle. A teacher and administrator with the Los Angeles Unified School District for over 30 years, Ruth Kendle’s passion and desire was to educate and support children and prepare them for college. After her retirement, she continued that passion by volunteering and mentoring young students. Funds from the Kendle Family Endowment will help Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) students from California who are pursuing a career in education.
“I hope that it can be of support to them as they pursue the same passion and desire as my mother,” Jan Kendle said.
In 2008, former UW employee Rise McGill created a faculty staff endowment in honor of Pitre, OMA&D associate vice president for assessment who served 13 years as the director of the IC, four years as assistant director and 21 years as a chemistry instructor. The Emile Pitre Fund provides support for graduate and undergraduate tutors at the IC, and in doing so has a two-fold impact. Not only does the fund support student tutors by giving them economic assistance to earn their degrees, it allows the IC to continue hiring outstanding tutors who contribute to the academic excellence of even more students.
Since the endowment was established, many alumni who used the IC have contributed as a tribute to Pitre and acknowledgement of the role the IC played in their success as students. Pitre, along with his family, has also been a major contributor and instrumental in finding additional alumni to support the endowment.
The Vu Endowed Scholarship, established by OMA&D’s assistant director for TRiO Student Support Services (SSS), provides funds to underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation students within the TRiO SSS population. The endowment honors Vu Loveridge’s parents for teaching her the value of education. She pointed out that her mother raised three children, worked full-time, and continued to take classes at a community college over the span of 10 years to receive her associate’s degree in accounting.
“They sacrificed everything to get the family to the U.S. in search of a better life,” Vu Loveridge said. “That better life meant the opportunity for an education.”
For more information about supporting or establishing endowments that benefit student scholarships, contact the OMA&D Advancement team at 206-685-0518.
