Nicholls has received multiple donations equal to approximately $465,000 to create student scholarships, while also benefitting the Chef John Folse Culinary institute. According to Dr. David Boudreaux, the executive director of the Nicholls Foundation, Nicholls received four major donations before Christmas break of last year.
“These generous donations are the result of the long term relationships between our donors and the university,” Boudreaux said.
The first scholarship is the Harold J. Callais Endowed First Generation Undergraduate Scholarship in Dyslexia.
Michael and Blanche Callais contributed $60,000 to the scholarship. Michael is the son of the late Harold J. Callais. The state will provide a $40,000 match, bringing the donation to $100,000 and allowing the Center for Dyslexia and Related Learning Disorders to award up to four scholarships per year to qualified students. The Callais family has also added $5,000 to their donation in order for the scholarship to be activated immediately in the fall of 2014 and avoid waiting a year for the scholarship to collect interest. An additional $10,000 was gifted to the University for various biology research scholarships, which have already been given.
The next scholarship is the John and Colleen Kotts Scholarship in Culinary Arts.
John and Colleen Kotts provided a scholarship in Culinary Arts with a gift of $20,000. The scholarship, which will provide financial assistance to highly qualified students enrolled in the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, will be awarded in the spring semester of 2015. The Kotts’s are close friends of Chef John Folse, and they have donated to the institute before.
Ron and Jackie Bartels gifted $60,000 to the Bartels Family Endowed First Generation Scholarship in Memory of Michelle Bartels Bourg. The scholarship will be awarded to qualifying first-generation students who enroll at Nicholls. With a $40,000 match from the state, the permanent donation will come to $100,000. The scholarship will be awarded to up to four students per year beginning in the fall of 2015. The Bartels created this endowment in memory of their daughter Michelle.
The final donation was funded from the Peltier Foundation.
A $250,000 gift from the Peltier Foundation will be dedicated to the construction of the new Lanny D. Ledet Building, which will house the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute. The building, currently under construction, is being funded through a state-private matching agreement. According to Boudreaux, Nicholls works very hard with the donors to ensure that their donations go to the exact department that they want.
“I really think that these donations really show how people of the community value the continuing education and well-being of the university,” Boudreaux said. “These donors really amaze me with their generosity.”