So often we hear about the money grabbing universities and their deans trying to get a larger piece of the pie during our tough economic times. Everyone and anyone is out to plea for more grants and money to keep their school alive and thriving. Most of the money goes to faculty or administrators to keep them happy, certainly not the students who struggle no matter what.
It so happens that the dean of the University of Florida, Bernie Machen, gave of himself this time, and awarded all of his yearly bonus to scholarships for students who might otherwise not attend university. He took the entire $285.000 of his bonus and put it into scholarships for needy students who meet a certain criterion, such as a family income of less than $40000 and who have never had a family member attend university
Dean Machen has a reason for this; his own childhood. He came from a modest home life with a school teacher mother and a travelling salesman father. He had to juggle 4 jobs every year in university just to afford attendance. He earned a dentistry degree all paid for by the time he graduated.
He means what he says. There are deserving students out there who would otherwise not be able to fathom attending university except for this scholarship which will cover tuition, books, fees and residence. That is a true gift from the heart. Other officials of universities and colleges might give this some thought.