Generous six-figure gift funds ESU scholarship for single parents
Feb. 12, 2007
Single parents who decide to pursue a college degree face numerous obstacles, from finances and scheduling to child care concerns and self-doubt. At Emporia State University, a substantial gift has changed the educational dynamic for single parents.
The Single Parents With Children Scholarship, funded by Paula Sauder of Emporia with a gift of nearly half a million dollars, will provide generous scholarships for single-parent students. The scholarship program will award five scholarships for the 2007-08 academic year, increasing to 10 annual scholarships in later years.
“I deeply appreciate Paula’s generosity and I am touched by the support she is providing for a group of students with so great a potential for life-changing benefits,” said President Michael Lane. “Her vision to assist single parents earn a college degree will ensure a more stable future for them and their children. We thank Paula Sauder for her vision, her insight and her generosity.”
Sauder was motivated to support scholarships for single parents for two reasons. The first was an early exposure to higher education. As a grade-schooler, Sauder and her mother, Inez Carmichael Friesen, spent their summers together at Emporia State University, away from their Hutchinson home. Friesen, who in 1925 earned a life certificate for teaching from Kansas State Normal School (now ESU), was renewing her certificate and working toward a bachelor’s degree.
Although Sauder’s mother was not a single parent –– the father remained in Hutchinson during those summers –– Sauder gained an appreciation for what it takes when one parent and child seek an education together. The young girl was free to roam, exploring every inch of campus. “There was no doubt about where I wanted to go to college,” said Sauder, who co-chaired ESU’s campaign for student scholarships, Building Blocks for Success.
The scholarship campaign is nearing completion in the face of declining state support for higher education. Historical levels of 50 to 60 percent state support have fallen to the 20- to 30-percent range today, said President Lane. “At a time when access to higher education for lower income students is threatened, it is essential that we increase scholarship funding to fill the gap,” he said. “In the absence of federal or state policy to remedy this situation, private scholarship dollars have become the primary stop-gap solution. As we look to the future for tuition increases and changes in state funding, scholarship support will continue to be a high priority for ESU.”
Sauder and her mother earned bachelor’s degrees in elementary education from ESU in 1968 and 1967, respectively. Beginning her professional life, Sauder encountered a second reason to help single parents. For 20-plus years she managed both federally-subsidized housing and college apartments in Emporia, and saw firsthand the hardships a single parent endures. “The struggles of having to go to school and raise a family were very obvious to me,” Paula said.
Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau bear out those hardships. In 1970, nine of 10 American families were headed by two parents. Today, almost one-third are headed by single parents, and 86 percent of all single parents are women. One in four children is born to an unmarried mother.
Divorce is frequently cited as the reason for a single parent to return to school. Although choosing education is a positive decision, it is one fraught with barriers. It is held together by the threads of available child care, functional transportation, minimal health insurance and access to health care. A break in any of those threads might make or break the student’s academic success.
“Education is so very important, and I think Emporia State University is an excellent place to get that education,” Sauder said. “If a child grows up in a situation where they see education as important, they’ll be more likely to take their education seriously.”
The gift is a “win-win situation,” she added. “The university will benefit, the students will benefit, and the children will benefit, growing up knowing that there are places that nurture and educate.”
“Paula’s recognition of a need led her to fill that need in a remarkable way,” said Sandy Kramer, interim executive director of University Advancement. “The relationships we’re rekindling with ESU alumni and friends are bringing forth these stories. During the scholarship campaign, we’ve been continually amazed at the way people of various interests find opportunities to support today’s students.”
Last Updated July 17, 2007