The Dean Coughenour Trust, through a historic $1 million gift to the Pat J. Bosco Achievement/Leadership Scholarship fund, will soon expand opportunities for first-generation students at Kansas State University.
The gift advances a university initiative to encourage and support first-generation students, who represent a quarter of K-State undergraduates. It will make available a total of $64,000 in scholarship assistance each year, to be distributed among 32 students whose parents or guardians did not complete a four-year degree and who demonstrate a commitment to leadership, campus involvement and academic excellence.
Dean Coughenour was a longtime Manhattan, Kansas, resident and K-State sports fan. Early in his career, he served as partner in the Manhattan Tribune News and Grass and Grain newspapers. He then owned and operated AG Press from 1958 to 1986, staying on as partner until 2010. Following a challenging childhood during the Great Depression, he was awarded financial aid to pursue higher education on two conditions: that he put forth effort and extend similar support one day, if possible. When Coughenour and his AG Press partner, Tom Carlin, hosted a luncheon for first-generation students in the early 1990s, they set in motion a chain of events that culminated in the establishment of K-State’s award-winning First-generation Student Center in 2018.
Susan Lundstrom, Coughenour’s daughter and executive director of the trust, draws parallels between her father and the scholarship fund’s namesake.
“Like Pat Bosco, my father was a first-generation student who relied on scholarships to complete his education,” she said. “That education changed the trajectory of both men’s lives, and these scholarships will now provide the same opportunities for K-State students.”
The Pat. J. Bosco Achievement/Leadership Scholarship fund is open to contributions from all who wish to honor Bosco, who retired as vice president for student life and dean of students in 2019 after more than 50 years of leadership at K-State. Often referred to during those years as “the face of the university,” his contributions to student life, enrollment management and leadership development helped transform K-State into the top choice for Kansas high school seniors. From pioneering nationally recognized programs to personally mentoring students and families, his unwavering dedication has shaped a culture of student-centered excellence.
“This gift reflects the very best of K-State — supporting first-generation students and ensuring an affordable path to a K-State degree is at the heart of who we are as an institution,” said Karen Goos, vice provost for enrollment management. “The Dean Coughenour Trust’s generosity honors our core values and strengthens our next-gen commitment to access, affordability and a world-class education for all. We are deeply and profoundly grateful for the opportunities it creates for our students.”
“Through this generous gift, the Dean Coughenour Trust is carrying forward a promise to open doors for first-generation Wildcats who have the talent, the drive and the heart to lead,” said K-State President Richard Linton. “These scholarships honor a legacy of hard work and gratitude, and they strengthen our land-grant mission to ensure that a K-State education remains within reach for students ready to step forward, serve others and help build what comes next.”
As Kansas State University’s strategic partner for philanthropy, the KSU Foundation inspires and guides philanthropy toward university priorities to boldly advance K-State.
Visit www.ksufoundation.org/impact/category/release for more information.