A West Virginia University alumnus has established a scholarship fund at his alma mater in memory of his Lewis County grandparents, who encouraged him to pursue a college education.
Stephen Stanczak and his wife, Valerie, have created the endowed fund through a gift benefiting WVU s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
The endowment, administered by the WVU Foundation Inc., will support at least one scholarship each year for a sophomore, junior or senior student from Lewis County majoring in an arts and sciences program. A student who is a recipient one year is eligible for consideration in any other year.
If there are no eligible students from Lewis County, the scholarship will be awarded to an out-of-state student who had at least one parent graduate from WVU . Recipients will be chosen by the Eberly College based on financial need and academic achievement.
Scholarships will be awarded in the name of the Stanczak and Lamb families. Stephen Stanczak is a 1979 graduate of WVU s Department of Political Science and went on to earn a law degree from the University of Illinois. Valerie Stanczak is a Cabell County native who attended North Central College in Illinois. The couple lives in Rancho Mirage, Calif., where Stanczak serves as executive vice president and corporate counsel for US Filter Corp.
The scholarship is intended to memorialize Aubry and Ina Lamb, lifelong West Virginians who inspired their grandson, Stanczak, to attend WVU and instilled in him an abiding love of the Mountain State.
We are seeing an increasing trend toward designated gifts to honor a family member or loved one,said interim Dean Rudolph P. Almasy.Certainly, the role that grandparents or parents play in encouraging our students to seek higher education is extremely valuable, and we appreciate Mr. and Mrs. Stanczaks desire to recognize that positive influence.
The WVU Foundation Inc. is a private, nonprofit corporation that develops, receives and administers private gifts from individuals and organizations for the benefit of West Virginia University.
