First came word that the university would receive a gift of $1.9 million from the estate of alumna and former school teacher Mary Lou Culp.
Next, a “secret” Santa this month made an anonymous gift of $1 million which will be dedicated to the Science Hall renovation project.
Then Congress passed its long-delayed federal budget appropriations designating $921,000 to fund technology infrastructure at Wittenberg.
The new gifts and grants bring Wittenberg’s $70 million Defining Moments Campaign to a total of $59.3 million.
Wittenberg University will receive $921,000 through a U.S. Department of Education Technology Innovation Challenge Grant to continue the upgrade of wiring and electrical systems within the university's academic buildings.
The appropriation marks the third year in a row that Hobson has been successful in winning major support for science education at Wittenberg. The Springfield congressman earlier secured two $1 million grants for the expansion of Science Hall. This latest grant will also help technology resources in the sciences and elsewhere on campus.
Hobson has been a strong supporter of quality science education as a national priority, both as a matter of national security and to sustain the nation’s leadership in the global economy.
As part of the university’s endowment, the bequest from the estate of Mary Lou Culp will continue her lifelong work of helping students by providing scholarships to more than 30 students a year in perpetuity.
Culp graduated from Wittenberg in 1931, and was a highly regarded high school counselor and teacher for 43 years. She taught Latin, Spanish and English at Leesburg, Tiltonsville and Warren Consolidated Schools before completing her “first” career at Wyoming High School near Cincinnati.
After that, she served as assistant dean of admission at Wittenberg for nearly 10 years.
During her career, Culp received every major national honor for counseling, including the Cecil Dearing Award from the National Cum Laude Society and the Jack Scott Award from the Ohio Association of College Admission Counselors. She also served on the executive boards of the National Association of Women Deans, Administrators and Counselors.
In 1974, Wittenberg presented her with an Alumni Citation for outstanding achievement in her field, and seven years later, Culp was the recipient of the university’s prestigious Class of 1914 Award for her meritorious service to Wittenberg.
In 1987, Culp retired from Wittenberg but continued to work on behalf of the institution, officiating at college night programs and writing brochures for the Office of Admission. For her leadership and dedication to Wittenberg as a churchrelated liberal arts institution and for her love of teaching and of students, the university bestowed on her its Medal of Honor in 1992.
On her Medal of Honor award, the university wrote: “Loyal and devoted alumna, astute and dedicated educator whose love of teaching, learning, students and Wittenberg is evidenced by every facet of her life, she has devoted her life to teaching young people and making a love of learning a part of their lives....A truly gentle woman who deeply cares about people and enriches the lives of her students, friends and colleagues, she has encouraged hundreds of young people to reach for the stars.”
She died Jan. 21, 2000 at her home in Wyoming, Ohio at the age of 90.