More than 93 percent of Bradley students receive some kind of financial assistance, according to the Bradley website. Soon, some of that financial assistance may be coming from a substantial donation.
This is thanks to recent donation of $1 million annually in perpetuity from the Earl and Evelyn “Lovie” Beard Trust. The money is expected to effect generations of students, and will be one of the largest donations ever given to Bradley.
The Beards’ donation will help further their mutual commitment to the sciences. Though a press release from Bradley’s Office of Public Relations stated that the gift would have a specific focus on scholarships, the exact distribution of the funds is yet to be decided.
University officials will meet Friday afternoon to discuss how to best operationalize the donation.
“I wish I could say, ‘this is exactly how these scholarships are going to operate,” said Christopher Jones, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “But it’s all to be determined.”
Though the university had been aware of the Beards’ intent to donate, it was surprised at the magnitude of the gift.
“It certainly was a very pleasant surprise,” said Jones. “And it’s so exciting because it’s going to allow us to do more impactful, transformational things. It will allow us to touch the lives of more students than we were able to do previously.”
Earl Beard graduated from Bradley in 1945 with a degree in Medical Technology and went on to study medicine at Northwestern University, as well as serving in the United States Air Force. He was a pioneer in cardiac catheterization technology and was honored for his contributions to sports medicine and cardiology.
Lovie Beard also served in the Air Force, and then received her advanced RN degree from Northwestern, where she and her husband first met. Lovie worked for 32 years as a surgical nurse at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She was also an accomplished tennis player who won the 2012 National Championship in the Senior Circuit division.
The Beards’ were what is referred to as “planned giving donors,” or individuals who left money through their estate. Earl and Lovie gave small donations to Bradley each year throughout their lives, and university officials had been aware for some time that they had planned to leave a substantial donation.
“When they spoke to us six or seven years ago, I think we would have told you we might get a hundred and fifty thousand a year… [but] their estate grew at a rate I’m not sure even they could have imagined.” said Jacob Heuser, vice president for university advancement.
Heuser noted the magnitude of the donation, but also emphasized the generosity and humility that the Beards’ actions exemplify.
“They wanted to fund scholarships. They wanted to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to have a life of experience and discovery,” Heuser said.
