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Understanding Student Needs First-hand

Ross and Karen Vaughn with scholarship recipients
Ross and Karen Vaughn with two of their scholarship recipients.

The adjectives “loyal” and “generous” perfectly describe the 40-year career of Boise State University Professor Emeritus Dr. Ross Vaughn. During his long tenure at Boise State, the former associate dean of the College of Education wore many hats, including chair of the kinesiology department, graduate program coordinator, director of intramural sports and recreation, and head baseball coach.

Dr. Vaughn began his career at Boise State as the head baseball coach and faculty member for the then Physical Health and Education Department. While his positions at Boise State changed over his career, he made significant contributions to developing the College of Health Sciences’ Department of Kinesiology.

Following retirement in 2013, he remained active at the university, serving as a champion for the Boise State Extraordinary Times, Extraordinary Opportunities scholarship campaign.

“I spent a career educating and serving students, and I know first-hand there is great need,” Vaughn said.

Longtime donors to the university, he and his wife, Karen, founded the Dr. Ross Vaughn Kinesiology Endowed Scholarship to support students enrolled in the department he helped found at Boise State.

“I didn’t have any scholarships when I was going through school,” Vaughn said. “I had to borrow a little money just so I could get through. It’s harder today, and costs are much more expensive.”

The scholarship endowment has been funded collectively with cash contributions and planned gifts from the Vaughns and former colleagues and students.

“The collection of gifts made to this endowment is powerful,” he said. “When we all contribute to these endowments and the university, we can build on something great.”

Support the Future of Kinesiology

Create a Legacy Through Gift Planning

What is a Charitable Bequest?

A bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make.

With the help of an advisor, you can include language in your will to specify a gift to be made to family, friends or Boise State as part of your estate plans. A bequest may be made in several ways:

  • Gift of a dollar amount
  • Gift of a percentage of your estate
  • Gift of a specific asset

Become a Donor

If you would like to explore making a bequest gift or need assistance with charitable estate planning, our gift planning team (listed below) can help you and your professional advisors find creative ways to support Boise State social work students at greater amounts than you may have ever thought possible. Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions or to let us know how we can help you achieve the impact you would like to make for future generations of social work students.

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