cg/11-4-09

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  OU Public Affairs
(405) 325-1701

LAWTON — With the University of Oklahoma placing a high priority on scholarships that support the Study Abroad experience, OU President David Boren today announced a gift from a Dallas couple that will establish $100,000 in scholarship endowments for students in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education.

Donald D. and Cathey Humphreys are creating two scholarship funds for education students.  The first will provide financial support for education students enrolling in an OU Study Abroad program.  The second will provide general scholarship support to undergraduate education students.  

Donald Humphreys is senior vice president and treasurer of ExxonMobil Corp., which will match the couple’s gift.  Cathey A. Simmons Humphreys is a 1970 OU business education graduate, who taught for a time in the adult education field in Philadelphia, including at a junior college and for federally funded job-training programs.  The two OU scholarships will be given in her name.

“We are so grateful to Don and Cathey Humphreys for this gift to our Rainbolt College of Education,” said Boren.  “In addition to scholarship support that will help our education students complete their degrees, they are making it possible for education students to participate in a Study Abroad program.  Ensuring an international experience for our future teachers has special meaning because they can, in turn, enlarge the world-view of the school children they will teach.”

Mrs. Humphreys noted that she and her husband “have gotten to a point where we feel we are able to give back.  We tried to hone in on what our core value is, and we feel strongly that the greatest gift you can give to any person is the gift of an education. 

“What better place to focus your philanthropy in education than the place that gave you your education.”

Boren announced the new scholarship funds at the November meeting of the OU Board of Regents in Lawton, noting that increased scholarship support is the key to his goal of doubling the number of students who participate in a Study Abroad experience during their time at OU.  Currently, about 700 OU students pursue international academic experiences each year.

Boren noted that the Humphreys’ endowment is one of only a handful of privately funded OU endowments directed to Study Abroad support, but the University is working to increase the number of those scholarships.  OU’s goal is to be able to offer financially eligible students between $1,000 and $2,500 to help cover the costs of airfare and living expenses in foreign cities.  Endowed scholarship funds of $20,000 to $50,000 will generate earnings that will ensure this level of funding in perpetuity.

“It is so important that we are preparing our students to work and live in an increasingly global environment, and few experiences enhance that preparation more profoundly than a study abroad experience,” said Boren. “Not only do our students learn about the world, they learn about themselves, gaining priceless knowledge, confidence, and insight.” 

Mr. and Mrs. Humphreys and their three children spent a number of years living abroad in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“It was one of the most rewarding experiences of our entire family’s life, from the moment we stepped off the plane to when we returned three and a half years later,” Mrs. Humphreys said.  “It gave us a totally new insight on life.  We feel it so important for every person to step away from their comfort zone and see what it is like in a place where the culture and language are different and, probably more important, to see what other people think of the place from which you come.”