he Truman Alumni Association - Alumni - Truman State University

Creating a
Legacy
Linda Miller and her
husband, Tim Duperron,
have established the Miller-
Duperron Endowed Scholarship
with a $50,000 cash pledge
commitment. This need-based
award honors Linda’s parents,
Louis and Rita Miller, for their
encouragement and support of
Linda’s educational and professional
goals.
“We want to help
deserving students
achieve the same
quality education
that I had at
Truman,” said
Linda, a 1970
Truman alumna.
“When I was in school, state
funding was significant. Now, less
than 50 percent is funded by the
state leaving a much larger
burden for the University to
recover through tuition and
fundraising.”
Linda credits the education she
received at Truman, as well as the
support she received from faculty,
for the start she needed to go on
to a successful career in the
automotive industry. Now
retired, she spent 33 years at the
Ford Motor Company where she
was the first woman to be named
as a production superintendent
and as the first female director of
manufacturing running plants in
several countries. She was also the
first woman named quality
control superintendent, supplier
quality assurance representative
“When I was in school, state funding
was significant. Now, less than 50 percent
is funded by the state leaving a much larger
burden for the University to recover
through tuition and fundraising.”
and the first woman plant
manager at Ford.
A former member and president
of the Truman State University
Foundation Board, Linda has also
dedicated considerable time and
talent to ensuring that the
Foundation is in a position of
strength to support the
University’s extraordinarily
talented students. “Having
joined the Foundation Board
several years ago, I have seen firsthand
the quality of the students,”
said Linda. “I have also been
given a greater understanding of
the need.”
Through their estate planning,
Tim and Linda have also
generously pledged an
additional $400,000 to the
University by enrolling in the
Joseph Baldwin
Society. Their
bequest will
provide further
support for the
Miller-Duperron
Endowed
Scholarship fund
with a percentage
of this gift being designated to
the Truman Endowment Fund,
a multi-purpose fund
designated to meet the future
needs of the University.
“Like many people, a significant
portion of our net worth
is not liquid. By designating a
percentage of our total asset
base for Truman in our estate
planning, Tim and I are able
to ensure that Truman will
benefit even more substantially in
the future,” said Linda. “There is
tremendous satisfaction in
knowing that the assets we have
worked so hard to earn will
continue to help others at
Truman when we are no longer
here to do so on an annual basis.”
Linda Miller (’70) (on left), shown with her
husband, Tim Duperron, and her mother, Rita.
Employer
Matching Gift
Programs
Many employers sponsor
matching gift programs and
will match any charitable
contributions made by their
employees. To find out if
your company has a
matching gift policy and will
match your gift to the
Truman State University
Foundation, check with your
company’s human resources
department or go to our
online matching gift
program search engine at
http://www.matchinggifts.
com/truman/.
Parents Lead Fundraising Project for Library Cafe
Thanks in large part to funding provided by the 2009-2010 Truman
Parents Project, the University plans to open a new café/coffee shop in
Pickler Memorial Library by the beginning of the fall semester. The
project was initiated in response to numerous suggestions by students on
surveys, and Tel-Alumni students raised donations for the project by calling
parents of current students as part of the University’s annual telethon. The
Parents Project has raised nearly $60,000 of the $75,000 goal set for this
fundraising project.
To make room for the new café where students will be able to buy refreshments
and socialize, the Library is renovating an area off the main atrium across from
the entrance. The café will provide seating for individuals and groups, as well as
an area that can be used for special events, including poetry readings, guest
speakers, and readings by authors. Sodexho, the company that provides the
food service on campus, will operate the café.
Each year, a specific fundraising project is selected by the Parents Council
based on input from students and University departments. Truman parents
have made a tremendous impact with financial gifts of more than $880,000
since fiscal year 1996. Some past projects include the renovation of Baldwin
Hall Auditorium, purchasing laptop computers and expanding the campus’
wireless network, the Cyber Café in Magruder Hall, and technology enhancements
in classrooms and the Student Union.
Summer 2010 45