$500K gift from alumnus’ estate to fund new endowed scholarship
December 17, 2014
John and Mary Boulware present interim dean Jason Keith and provost Jerry Gilbert the check to establish the Cullis Wade Endowed Scholarship
STARKVILLE, Miss. – A Bagley College of Engineering alumnus demonstrated his gratitude to his alma mater with a gift that will ensure the success of future Bulldogs.
Through a bequest in his will, Cullis Wade provided $500,000 to establish an endowed scholarship. The 1940 electrical engineering graduate’s will outlined the terms of the gift, which supports scholarships for students majoring in engineering.
“It is extremely powerful when individuals like Mr. Wade take action to benefit countless students after their positive experiences at MSU,” said Jerry Gilbert, Mississippi State provost and executive vice president. “Mr. Wade’s generosity and commitment to MSU will be recognized by the many student recipients benefiting from this new endowment in the College of Engineering.”
This endowment is the latest addition to the Wade legacy at Mississippi State. He contributed a stock gift to the first expansion of the football stadium, which is named for his cousin, Davis Wade. He and his wife also founded the Cullis and Gladys Wade Clock Museum at the university’s Welcome Center.
Wade’s cousin John Boulware and his wife Mary presented the check to create the endowment while on campus to watch the Bulldogs take on the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Mary said they considered the Wades close friends and keep the couple’s memory alive by continuing the group’s tradition of supporting MSU athletics and giving tours of the clock museum.
Mary recalled former Mississippi State athletic director Larry Templeton’s eulogy for Wade in which he said, “Cullis gave back when not many people were giving.” She said that statement helps explain his generous spirit.
“Cullis believed in giving back to his community, his church and his beloved Mississippi State Bulldogs. He put his money where his heart was and thought others should do the same,” Mary said. “Cullis’s memorial brick at Davis Wade Stadium is imprinted with ‘Believer-Giver-Friend.’ What a reminder for each and every one of us!”
Wade had a diverse career that spanned four states, after he completed his degree at Mississippi State. He worked in cotton gins, built a sawmill and several tung oil mills, and served as a Navy SeaBee. He established the Wade Tung Oil Mill in Bogalusa, Louisiana, where he built an airport, and he co-founded the C&W Construction Co. He also owned a radio station in Georgia and worked as a tree farmer in Mississippi and Louisiana.
In addition to his bequest, Wade established a charitable remainder trust in 2000 to support MSU athletics. His planned gifts totaled over $1.5 million. Like the Wades, over 260 alumni and friends have active planned gifts valued at more than $210 million.
For more information about how to make a planned gift, visit www.msugiftplanning.org.
To learn more about the Cullis and Gladys Wade Clock Museum, visit www.visit.msstate.edu/clockmuseum.
The Bagley College of Engineering is online at www.bagley.msstate.edu.
By: Erin Boozer