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11-4-99 Contacts: Richard Ross, College of Veterinary Medicine, (515) 294-8856 Tom Mitchell, ISU Foundation, (515) 294-6655 Dalene Abner, ISU Foundation, (515) 294-8681 Steve Sullivan, News Service, (515) 294-3720 TALBOTS BUILD SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE STUDENTS AMES, Iowa -- A recent $3.4-million gift from Russ and Lora Talbot of Ankeny has established the Russell G. and Lora L. Talbot Scholars in Veterinary Medicine Program at Iowa State University. The program presently provides four-year, $2,500 annual scholarships to two ISU veterinary medicine students from Iowa. When fully funded, the endowed program will be the largest in the college, providing scholarships to more than 50 Iowa students at all levels of study. "Russ and Lora Talbot believe in the power of education, and we are extremely grateful for their generosity," said ISU President Martin Jischke. "Their gift will provide great benefits for the profession of veterinary medicine by providing Iowa students with the support they need to pursue a veterinary medicine degree." Russ Talbot is a retired special agent with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service. Lora is an executive officer with the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS). The two Wartburg College graduates developed an interest in Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine after reading several articles about its Companion Animal Fund and Wildlife Care Clinic. Funding a scholarship program is "like planting seeds, which will grow and develop into their very own lives of productive service and professional excellence," according to the Talbots. They believe that "by investing our resources in the education of Iowa State veterinary medicine students, the value of these resources will extend in perpetuity." The College of Veterinary Medicine annually admits 100 first-year students, including at least 60 students from Iowa. When the Talbot Scholars program is fully underway, more than one fifth of all ISU veterinary medicine students who are from Iowa will be Talbot Scholars. The Talbots’ gift was part of the ISU Foundation’s Campaign Destiny: To Become the Best. The largest fund-raising campaign in Iowa State history has a $425-million goal for its conclusion in June 2000. These resources are helping to further Iowa State’s aspirations to become the best land-grant university in the nation. -30- |
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