New Sul Ross endowment to benefit AG, natural resources majors

ALPINE A $160,000 endowment will provide scholarships for Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences majors at Sul Ross State University.

Peggy Landis Matli of Fredericksburg and her nephew, Heath Landis of New Braunfels, and Sul Ross President R. Vic Morgan recently signed documents establishing the Gilbert A. and Laura P. Schmidt Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences Endowment and Scholarship Fund.

The Schmidts were long-time ranchers in Blanco, Kimble and Gillespie counties. Peggy Matli, a niece, and Landis, a great-nephew, are both Sul Ross graduates.

Scholarship applicants must be agricultural and natural resource sciences majors, with preference given to graduates of Blanco, Kimble or Gillespie County high schools.

Continuing students must be full-time students in good disciplinary standing.

Beginning freshmen must be fully admitted to Sul Ross.

Returning students must be making normal progress toward a degree with a per semester grade point average of 2.75 or higher.

Scholarship selections will be recommended to the University Scholarship Committee by the Department of Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences Scholarship Committee.

"My aunt Laura did not choose to go to college, but always said this was the place she would choose to go to school," Matli said.

"Going to Sul Ross was a given in our family, and this (scholarship endowment) is the right place to honor Laura and Gilbert."

Matli's brother, Jack Landis, also attended Sul Ross. Matli later worked as an administrative assistant for Bob Posey, vice president of Student Affairs, then was a teacher and counselor at Alpine High School for 19 years.

She later moved to Fredericksburg, working as an assistant principal in the Fredericksburg Independent School District, retiring earlier this year after a 35-year education career.

Heath Landis graduated from Sul Ross in 1998 and has been a pharmaceutical representative in animal health for the past 10 years.
"I enrolled in the veterinary tech program," he said. "I was going to spend two years here and then go elsewhere. After two years, you couldn't drag me away from Sul Ross."

"Heath's career has been exactly what he went to Sul Ross to study," his aunt said. "You can go to Sul Ross and get a great education, but more importantly, you can walk out the door, get a really good job and do well."

"Sul Ross gives you people skills and confidence," Matli said. "For us, it was a good foundation for getting out and dealing with people."

Sul Ross endowments now approach $13 million with 214 separate endowments.

For more information on endowments, contact Leo Dominguez, (432) 837-8033 or leodo@sulross.edu.

Sul Ross endowment established for English and music majors

ALPINE A new endowment will provide scholarships to English and music majors at Sul Ross State University.

Marguerite Scales Laughlin, Premont, a 1937 Sul Ross graduate, established the Mr. and Mrs. Otis Scales and Mr. and Mrs. Shirley Scales Endowment and Schol­arship Fund. Preference will be given to full-time undergraduates majoring in English and/or music.

Laughlin, a retired teacher, established the endowment in honor of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Otis Scales and her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Shirley Scales. The Scales families owned and operated The Kandy Kitchen in Alpine for many years.

Laughlin had a long-time association with Sul Ross, attending first and second grade at the Sul Ross State Teachers College Training School.
After attending classes in the Alpine Independent School District for several years, she returned and graduated from "sub-college" - the high school division of the college - in 1933. She then enrolled at Sul Ross, majoring in English and music.

For more information on endowments, contact Leo Dominguez, (432) 837-8033 or e-mail leodo@sulross.edu.

PHOTO: Sul Ross State University President R. Vic Morgan, left, Peggy Landis Matli of Fredericksburg and Heath Landis of New Braunfels sign the papers establishing an endowment that will provide scholarships for agricultural and natural resource sciences majors at Sul Ross. The Gilbert A. and Laura P. Schmidt Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences Endowment and Scholarship Fund will offer scholarships to Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences majors, with preference given to graduates of Blanco, Kimble or Gillespie County high schools.