Billy Cummins (second from right), signed endowment agreements for the Karen L. Cummins Endowed Scholarship Fund in memory of his wife Thursday with Delta State Chief Development Officer Gary Bouse (l to r), President William N. LaForge and Keith Fulcher, executive director of Alumni-Foundation.
Delta State University welcomed Billy Cummins to campus Thursday to sign endowment agreements for the Karen L. Cummins Endowed Scholarship Fund in memory of his wife, Karen L. Cummins, a 1979 graduate of Delta State University who was a trustee of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning and an exemplary employee of Atmos Energy Corporation.
The Delta State University Foundation, which will manage the fund, has received over $50,000 in generous donations from family members, Atmos Energy Corporation, friends and colleagues.
The purpose of the fund is to establish a scholarship for a student attending Delta State University.
Delta State President William N. LaForge said he was extremely grateful to the Cummins family.
“Billy Cummins’s generous gift to the Delta State University Foundation is significant for two reasons. First, it honors a very special person — his wife, Karen — who was a Delta State alumna and served on the IHL Board of Trustees. Secondly, the gift supports a major foundation scholarship fund that Delta State has established, with Billy’s guidance, that will honor Karen’s memory in perpetuity, while providing funds for deserving students to attend Delta State far into the future,” LaForge said.
“I am very grateful to Billy Cummins, his and Karen’s companies — Atmos and Entergy — and all donors who have contributed to this fund in Karen’s memory,” he added. “It is so fitting that we pay tribute to Karen Cummins in this meaningful way.”
The current level of the endowment will provide approximately $2,000 annually to a qualified recipient.
Potential recipients will exemplify the following guidelines:
-Recipient shall be the child of a current employee of the Atmos Energy Corporation or Entergy Corporation. First consideration will be given to children of employees of Atmos Energy.
-Recipient shall possess a high school grade point average of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale).
-Recipient shall maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher while attending Delta State.
-Recipient must meet all university scholarship guidelines to maintain the scholarship while enrolled at Delta State.
-Recipient must be in good standing with the university, will uphold the guiding principles and embody the core values of Delta State University.
The fund is open to additional contributions, which will enhance the value of the scholarship’s endowment. Contributions can be made by check made payable to the Delta State University Foundation, Box 3141, Cleveland, MS, 38733, or online at www.deltastategiving.org.
For more information, contact Gary Bouse, Delta State Chief Development Officer, at gbouse@deltastate.edu or 662-846-4704.
