Alumni chapters work to raise scholarship memorial funds for future generations of Marshall students
By Taylor Stuck-Vance
MU 72 | FALL 2024
When Mark S. Walker graduated from Marshall University with a degree in accounting in 1981, he took his love of his alma mater back home to Beckley.
“He was instrumental in founding what our club is today,” said Amanda Ashley, first vice president of the Marshall University Southern Coalfields Alumni & Big Green Club. “He and Larry Foster worked hard in those early, slim years to keep it going.”
The Marshall University Southern Coalfields Alumni & Big Green Club is one of today’s most active alumni chapters. In 2019, the club established a scholarship to send more southern West Virginia students to Marshall. Since then, the club has helped 24 students with scholarship support.
When Walker was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2021, the club decided to name its new fundraiser after him. Coordination efforts between Hospice of Southern West Virginia, BEST Ambulance and the club allowed Walker and his family to attend the event. Nearly 1,000 golf balls were dropped on the putting green to raise $1,800 for the club’s scholarship.
Sadly, the Mark Walker Ball Drop would be Walker’s last public outing, as he died just a few weeks later.
“Our club goal to raise funds was far exceeded by the enjoyment on Mark’s face and his family’s appreciation over this gesture,” Ashley said.
With the ball drop now being the main fundraiser for the club’s scholarship, Ashley said the club felt it fitting to rename the scholarship in Walker’s honor. The name change coincides with the club fully endowing the scholarship, which means it will live on in perpetuity.
“His legacy will forever live on and help students from southern West Virginia,” Ashley said. “Someone will get this and change the world.”
Memorial scholarships like the Mark S. Walker Memorial Scholarship provide a special way for alumni chapters to bond as they collaborate to honor the memory of a deceased member and support future students. These scholarships recognize the legacy of truly impactful members of the Marshall family.
Nate Ruffin’s legacy was cemented when fate kept him home instead of being able to play in the 1970 game at East Carolina University. His leadership on campus did not end with the Young Thundering Herd but continued until he died in 2001.
Members of the Marshall University Black Alumni (MUBA), one of the university’s longest-running alumni chapters, knew they needed to do something to honor Ruffin and thus the fundraising for the Nate Ruffin Scholarship began.
“It was a no-brainer that he would be the person we would name our first scholarship after,” said Bernard Coston, past president of MUBA and current member of the Marshall University Foundation Board of Directors. “Not only was he active on campus with the football team and alumni, but he was also active in the community with his church. He also worked for ‘The Herald-Dispatch’ for a time. There were many ways he connected with the community.”
When the foundation and alumni association began raising funds to build in 2010 what is now the Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall, home of the Erickson Alumni Center, MUBA was approached about honoring Ruffin by naming the lounge in the building after him. MUBA was able to raise enough money to name the Nate Ruffin Lounge and fully endow the scholarship.
“I really think Nate was the catalyst for the other scholarships we created,” Coston said. “Others saw we were doing good work and how we could help assist more students with their education.”
The Fran Jackson Scholarship is in honor of Fran Jackson, a past president of MUBA and program assistant for the Marshall University African American Students Program.
“Fran helped students in her role in student affairs, but she also provided personal advice and mentorship,” said LaKeisha Barron-Brown, president of MUBA. “With this scholarship, she can still give to students.”
The Janis Winkfield Scholarship is in honor of Janis Winkfield, the president of MUBA when the Nate Ruffin Scholarship was created. Winkfield was also a senior financial aid counselor at Marshall at the time of her passing.
“With these scholarships, we can not only recognize the legacy of alumni of the past, but also invest in the future of alumni now,” Coston said. “We have to stay fully engaged. We know every bit helps. So many of our scholarship recipients come to us and say how appreciative they are for the support. Many times, it’s what helped them stay in school.”
Another group taking care of future generations while honoring the memory of those who have passed is the Marshall 75 Family Alumni Chapter. Made up of family members of the 75 individuals who lost their lives in the Nov. 14, 1970, plane crash, this group is now working to continue the Marshall legacy with a new generation through the 75 Legacy Scholarship Fund.
“This scholarship fund will allow descendants of crash victims to attend Marshall at no cost to themselves,” said Leslie Deese Garvis, president of the Marshall 75 Family Alumni Chapter. “What better way to ensure the legacy of the 75 endures through their descendants than to provide a way for them to attend the university they loved?”
Priority for the scholarship is given to the first-generation descendants (sons or daughters) of the 75. If there are no first-generation recipients who qualify for the scholarship, any direct descendants of the 75 beyond the first generation can be considered.
To support the 75 Legacy Scholarship Fund or any of the scholarships mentioned, visit Marshall University Giving.
