Jack and Marilyn MacAllister
The MacAllister Scholarship reception has been a way for Jack and Marilyn MacAllister to personally meet their scholarship recipients and get to know the students they are helping. This year, Jim and Sue MacAllister attended the reception in place of their parents.
In 2010, the MacAllister's have provided 15 undergraduate scholarships and 6 graduate scholarships. The reception was held at the Judy Farr Alumni Center on January 14, 2010, which included a short introduction from Eugene Sheehan, dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences. Jim and Sue spoke about their parents and the MacAllister Scholarship followed by a short video of Jack and Marilyn with three past scholarship recipients. The remainder of the reception the student scholarship recipiants provided short summaries of their degree programs and plans for the future.
Jack and Marilyn MacAllister began their scholarships in 1991 to assist undergraduate and graduate students majoring in teacher education. Both Jack and Marilyn’s parents were teachers and they both have a strong belief in supporting education and teachers.
The two scholarships have the following criteria:
Undergraduate or entering freshmen enrolled full-time, 2.75 GPA; freshmen in top 40 percent of graduating class or ACT composite 22 or above (SAT score 890-910); strong desire to teach; good citizenship; financial need; priority given to minority candidates.
Admitted full-time graduate student committed to teaching and/or leadership role in K-12 schools; Master's or Specialist with 3.25 GPA; Doctoral with 3.5 GPA; demonstrated financial need; priority given to minority applicants.
The MacAllisters’ generous donations have made a great impact on our students. Through October 2009 Jack and Marilyn MacAllister have made over $780,000 in donations.
The MacAllister scholarships, through the University of Northern Colorado, have provided 104 Graduate Fellows scholarships to 60 graduate students, averaging about six scholarships per year with the fewest awards in 1991 (one award) and the most awards in 2007 (12 awards.) The MacAllisters have also provided 205 teacher education scholarships to 92 undergraduate students, an average of 11 scholarships per year with the fewest awards in 1995 (six scholarships) and the most awards in 2006 (26 scholarships.) Between 1991 and 2008, 309 scholarships were awarded to 152 students. The primary degree programs of the MacAllister scholarship recipients are as follows:
· Elementary and Secondary Education – 43%
· Spanish – Bilingual Education – 18%
· Psychology and Education Psychology – 12%
· MA in Severe or Moderate needs – 11%
· Other areas – 16%
Jack MacAllister retired as chief executive from USWest in 1990 after a long career in telecommunications and now lives in Crested Butte, Colo. While he graduated from the University of Iowa, for the past 15 years he and his wife, Marilyn, have become strong supporters of the University of Northern Colorado through their MacAllister Scholars program. Jack knows that the teacher education scholarships have made an impact; around 10 UNC education students receive scholarships each year, and these graduates have gone on to touch the lives of thousands of schoolchildren in Colorado and nationwide.
While the impact of the scholarships continues to multiply, MacAllister also finds satisfaction in the notion that the program also honors his own family. "My dad was a teacher and my father-in-law was a teacher," he says. "So the idea of improving educational opportunities for everyone is a tribute to the work they did in their lifetimes."
For more information or to donate to the MacAllister Scholarship, contact Michael Muskin, director of development for the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at 970.351.1408 or michael.muskin@unco.edu.
