College of Professional Studies Giving and Scholarships

Marge Spring’s contributions to UW-Stevens Point during her 18-year tenure as an educator in elementary physical education and as a coach in women’s field and hockey and women’s track and field are still being felt in the year 2000 and beyond. After living in the Phoenix area for most of their retirement years, Marge and Alice moved back to Stevens Point. Lunch with Fred Hebert (Chair, Department of Health, Exercise Science and Athletics, hired by Dr. Clawson when she was in that position) rekindled their interest in the Dr. Marjorie J. Spring Adapted Physical Education Scholarship. Marge Spring and Alice Clawson provided the funding to endow the principal of the scholarship at $10,000, which will support an annual $500 scholarship. As a result of their philanthropic interests, Marge and Alice have become reconnected to the UWSP Physical Education Department and with people who have meant so much to them for many years.

Ever since their days at what was then Wisconsin State College-Stevens Point, Roy and Phyllis Habeck of Shawano have been committed to education. After completing a two-year teaching training course in 1953, the couple married and embarked on a lifelong career in teaching and education administration. Following their retirement, they decided to fund the Habeck Family Scholarship, established to assist potential elementary and secondary students with their education expenses. After meeting with their scholarship winners, they said, “The School of Education does a super job of selecting the candidates. They’ve all been top-notch, and we have been very impressed with all the candidates.”

Erling Hegg met Esther Gavin at Stevens Point Normal in the early 1920s while they were both studying to be teachers. The yearbook line describing him says, “They that think most make the least noise.” Gavin inheriting Erling’s quiet gentleness along with his keen mind. Those traits surely helped him in his 31-year career at Sacramento Savings Bank in California where as chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer the bank grew from 60 employees and $60 million in assets to over 900 employees and $3.6 billion in assets.
Along with that growth came a serious commitment to charitable giving and being part of the community. When Esther Gavin Hegg died in 1986, the Hegg scholarships in the School of Education began. To honor her memory, Erling and son Gavin set up the scholarships. Gavin honors his parents’ memory, with scholarships that make difference in the lives of those who received them and all the children they will eventually teach.

Barbara Inch retired following 31 years of service with UWSP Continuing Education. She was not interested in receiving lots of retirement gifts, but she was interested in how she might be able to stay in contact with the university in a meaningful way during her retirement years. Barbara provided the initial funding to set up the “Dr. Barbara Inch Non-Traditional Scholarship for Women” in the College of Professional Studies. Barbara’s friends, colleagues and relatives contributed to the scholarship fund as their retirement gifts to Barbara. What a wonderful way to honor Barbara, to help students and provide a way for Barb to fulfill her desire to stay involved with the university! Our students will benefit not only financially, but also from their contact with Barbara. Our programs are enriched by the involvement of such talented retirees and alumni who find meaning in providing service to others.

An annual scholarship given to a health promotion and human development major at UWSP is a fitting tribute to a man who made important lifestyle changes in his own life. Back in the late 1970s, Jack Lane worked as a supervisor for the Soo Line Railroad in Stevens Point. To begin with, “He was not fit and trim, he smoked and was in a high-stress job,” said his friend Ron Cook. Jack and his wife, Colleen, decided to begin a jogging program over the noon hour at Sentry. Student interns advised Jack on his fitness program, which resulted in a significant weight loss. Because of his special connection to the UWSP students who helped him at the fitness center, Colleen and Ron decided to start a scholarship in Jack’s memory. Colleen and Ron became major contributors to a revamped Jack Lane Scholarship. “He cared deeply about the Stevens Point community and would be very pleased and honored that so many health promotion and human development students will derive benefit from a scholarship dedicated to his memory.”

While memorial scholarships are often started by a loved one’s survivors, Paul Staddler was instrumental in launching his own lasting memorial just weeks before his tragic death from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Paul’s wish was to have memorial money used for a meaningful purpose through the Paul J. Staddler Physical Education/Health Scholarship. No stranger to philanthropic giving, Paul began another scholarship endowment 10 years earlier for UWSP health promotion majors. At the time, he was working for a pharmaceutical company and wanted a scholarship geared toward wellness/health promotion. While people often remember their alma mater in wills after they die, Paul felt strongly about making a difference while he was still alive. “Paul did not believe that you wait till your dying day for that kind of important stuff,” his wife Doris says. “This latest scholarship is a memorial to him from family, friends, students, colleagues and our community for living a life well and giving his all during the short time he was here.”

After growing up in Stevens Point, Sheri Hall, MBA, left to attend UW-Madison and study to become a physical therapist. Early on, Sheri realized that she wanted a different path so she moved back to Stevens Point in the fall of 1986 to follow her passion for wellness at UWSP. Sheri hopes that through donating scholarship she can help health promotion students who have demonstrated exceptional leadership to follow her ideals and reach out to others. It is her hope that student recipients of her award would have gained a variety of experiences by going above and beyond what is required of them in the classroom, since she believes that “life is a journey, not a destination.” It is also important to Sheri to strive for personal growth, constantly improve yourself, and to keep a balance between all seven dimensions of wellness.