2008 Endowment Report - Quealys Support Endowment Honoring HT Person |
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Without a doubt, the contributions of individuals make a difference. Through the generosity of such donors, the University of Wyoming builds depth that ensures the stability and future success of its programs.
Stuart and Mary Quealy are donating $100,000 to the H.T. Person Memorial Endowment. The gift allows the endowment to exceed the $50,000 threshold necessary to be matched by the State of Wyoming.
Stuart and Mary are both Wyoming people. Stuart grew up in Elk Mountain and Laramie, and Mary grew up in Rawlins. They both graduated from UW in 1941, Stuart in Mechanical Engineering and Mary in Commerce. After graduation, Stuart worked for General Electric before moving back to Wyoming and marrying Mary. Then they ranched and owned and operated Rasmussen Furniture, Mary’s family’s business in Rawlins. Their children Alice and Michael also graduated from UW with degrees in Microbiology and Animal Science, respectively.
Mary attended UW when it was still unusual for women to take business courses. “There were 11 boys in my classes—and me,” says Mary.
As a mechanical engineering student, Stuart studied under H.T. Person. “I had two classes with H.T., and I enjoyed him very much. He was quite a man.”
The H.T. Person Chair in Engineering, UW's first fully endowed chair, was created in 1991 in honor of Hjalmar Thorval (H.T.) Person, an outstanding educator and UW's 16th president. “H.T. Person as a professor, department head, dean, and university president inspired students and faculty because he cared about the individual and their collective contribution to engineering and the university,” says Rob Ettema, Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. “Stuart and Mary Quealy’s recent generous gift to the H.T. Person Memorial Endowment is testimony to the impact of the professor on their lives, and the state match for every gift to the fund will further commemorate Person’s role in the college’s history.”
“That’s why we gave the money—because of H.T.,” Stuart says.
Photo:
Mary and Stuart Quealy
Posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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