Baylor Alum Provides Gift For New Student Foundation Facility
Baylor University has announced an $850,000 gift from Ed and Denise Crenshaw of Lakeland, Fla., that will provide for the construction of a Student Foundation building and student scholarships.
Ed Crenshaw earned his bachelor of business administration degree from the university in 1973, and during his time at Baylor he played an integral role in the early years of Student Foundation. Serving as a steering committee member and president of Student Foundation his senior year, Crenshaw now thinks it is important for him to give back to the university he believes did so much for him.
"Baylor shaped me in such a way that it made me the person I am today," he said. "And I think because of that, I would like our gift to continue to shape and influence other young people."
The Crenshaws' gift will provide for a new facility for Student Foundation, one of the most dynamic student organizations on Baylor's campus. The location for the Ed Crenshaw Student Foundation Center will be on South Fifth Street between Speight Avenue and Bagby Avenue. Design plans for the new facility are underway, and a groundbreaking ceremony will be held on April 29, with an anticipated completion date of early 2006.
"Hopefully, this will be a good start and finally provide this wonderful, deserving group of students a permanent home of their own," Crenshaw said.
The Crenshaws' gift also will award scholarships through the Ed Crenshaw Endowed Scholarship Fund in the Hankamer School of Business and the Ed Crenshaw Endowed Student Foundation Scholarship Fund, an integral component of the organization's mission. Student Foundation was founded at Baylor in 1969 as an organization dedicated to the mission of students serving students. A major responsibility of members is raising scholarships for other students. In 34 years, 4,776 Baylor University students have benefited from $3,234,000 in Student Foundation Scholarships.
"Through Ed and Denise Crenshaw's generosity, the solid tradition of Student Foundation will be strengthened," said Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr. "How fitting it is that the Crenshaws' generous gift coincides with the 35th anniversary of this organization that has meant so much to the life of our university."
In celebration of Student Foundation's years of service to Baylor, a 35th Anniversary Endowment Scholarship Campaign was launched in 2004. A portion of the Crenshaws' gift will go toward this endowment campaign. "When I was in Student Foundation, I had the opportunity to go out and raise money for student scholarships. All of my adult life I've hoped that I would be in the position someday to give back to Baylor in the way I promoted giving to the university when I was a student," Crenshaw explained.
Crenshaw is the president of Publix Supermarkets Inc., the largest and fastest-growing employee-owned supermarket chain in the United States. He is a member of the Hankamer School of Business Advisory Board, and he serves on several boards of directors in his community. The Crenshaws also have supported The Presidents Club and the Baylor Bear Foundation. They are life members of the Baylor Alumni Association, and they belong to First Presbyterian Church in Lakeland.
For more information on supporting Student Foundation, contact Assistant Vice President Larry Smith at (254) 710-2561 or 1-800-BAYLOR-U, option 4, or Larry_Smith@baylor.edu.