Art, English Get $100,000 Endowment

The university has received $100,000 from the estate of Weldon X. Hall Jr., a retired structural engineer who lived in Chicago and died there in November 1998. The Weldon X. Hall Jr. Endowment will provide $2,500 scholarships each year for two students.

"We are pleased to accept this generous gift," said James F. Gaertner, SHSU president. "It is especially gratifying that the life of someone who has had very little contact with Sam Houston State for these many years will now benefit our students of today and the future."

Sam Houston State University records indicate that Hall was born in Dodge, Texas, on July 25, 1921, making him 77 years old at the time of his death. He attended Huntsville High School and began his college studies in 1938.

He earned his bachelor of arts degree from Sam Houston State in 1942, with a major in art and minor in English. He served in the U. S. military, studied architecture, and earned a bachelor of science degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

He established a trust for the benefit of his sister, who lived in Houston, with the provision that the trust's assets be distributed to charitable organizations when she died.

"Bequests such as the one provided by Mr. Hall make a significant and lasting impact in the quality of our programs and opportunities for our students," said Gary A. Bouse, vice president for university advancement. "Somewhere along the way someone helped them, and they realize how important their education here was to their lives."

Bouse said that the trustee of Hall's estate told him that of the charitable and educational organizations remembered by Hall SHSU received the largest contribution.

- END -

SHSU Media Contact: Frank Krystyniak
March 14, 2002
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu