Thomas W. Dison endowed scholarship
On April 30, 2006, the Board of Regents accepted a gift from René A. Garza and Michael M. Carnes to establish the Thomas W. Dison Endowed Scholarship to benefit the Division of Recreational Sports. Both Rene and Mike worked at RecSports during their student years at UT (1970s) and established this endowment to pay homage to Tom for the leadership he provides to students and to the personal value of the work experience. Tom has served as Director of the Division of Recreational Sports since 1988.
Scholarship Recipients
Funds distributed from the endowment enable the division to provide two scholarships annually. Occurring each spring semester, the selection process is open to full-time undergraduate students who have reached junior or senior status, with a 2.5 minimum GPA and who have been employed by Recreational Sports during one or more academic years. The Dison Scholarship selection committee seeks candidates who:
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Demonstrate commitment to divisional values, goals and ideals
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Provide beneficial, outstanding leadership to those around them
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Go above and beyond in their job responsibilities on a regular basis
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Represent the division in a favorable and positive manner at all time
The first recipient of the Thomas W. Dison Endowed Scholarship is Major Latin. He is from Houston and works for Facility Operations with the Indoor Satellites as a Building Coordinator and Activity Supervisor. Major is a senior studying Finance and plans to attend Law School with a goal of pursing a career in public service. He notes that his work experience in RecSports has taught him the importance of responsibility, preparedness and professionalism.
The second recipient of the Thomas W. Dison Endowed Scholarship is Eric Swanson, a senior majoring in Environmental Science from The Colony, Texas. He has worked for Facility Operations on the Gregory Gym staff since Fall 2007. Besides working at RecSports, he is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta & Phi Eta Sigma Honor societies and serves as a teaching assistant for ballroom dance classes.
Previous winners:
2010 - Ellen Campbell Browne & Abraham Na
2009 - Shanky Balani & Joanna Thaler
2008 - Carolina Canavati & Chance Young
2007 - Beth Johnson & Ryan Rupert
2006 - Leigh Darilek & Katie Kunkel
Growing a Legacy
Special thanks to the friends listed below for their generous gifts to the Dison Scholarship.
Barbara A. Brimi in Memory of Carolyn Hewatt
Natalie E. Butler
John G. Campbell
Michael M. Carnes
William R. Childs, Ph.D.
Duke Covert
Ana R. Dison
Mr. and Mrs. Stanley W. Dison
Chelsea L. Fosse
René Garza
Bob Gerrie
Brian J. Haley
Lisa C. Henken-Ramirez in Memory of Stanley W. Dison
S. Shannon Janes
Dean and Sharon Justice in Memory of Stanley W. Dison
Annie Holand Miller
Holly Myers
Mrs. Wayne Myers
Mary K. Naranjo
Chelsea F. Rajagopalan
Keshav Rajagopalan
Daniel R. Rugoff in Memory of Stanley W. Dison
Lisa B. Sparks in Memory of
Stanley W. Dison
Grant R. Stanis
Ronnie, Julie, Justin, Mandy and Kyle Stein in Memory of Stanley W. Dison
Rita F. Thornton
Michael Adam Windle
Make a Scholarship Contribution
It is Rene's and Mike’s desire to increase the endowment principal in order to recognize additional student leaders. In order to achieve this goal, they hope to enlist the support of other former Recreational Sports student employees and participants.
Your tax-deductible contribution to the endowment is welcomed. Online contributions can be made through UT Online Giving. If your employer offers a charitable matching gift program, you can increase the size of your gift. Checks should be made payable to The University of Texas at Austin and mailed to:
Friends of RecSports
Attn: Development Coordinator
2101 Speedway Stop D7500
Austin, Texas 78712-1401
