Family, friends, and students gathered to celebrate the 18 new Hall of Sponsors scholarships.
Hall of Sponsors Fall 2021
T
he Hall of Sponsors ceremony is one of the highlights of Homecoming at Central Methodist University. This year’s ceremony highlighted 18 recent Hall of Sponsors scholarships, exceeding $1 million. While some already have been featured in the Talon, here are spotlights on our newest scholarships.
Dr. Gerald Hoxworth, ’49, Estate and Family Scholarship Gerald (Jerry) Monroe and Frances Hardy Hoxworth have flourished during their 70 years of marriage, which began with their meeting at Central. As first-generation college graduates from very humble beginnings, they have always valued the impact of a college degree when coupled with drive, perseverance, and a commitment to humanity. The Hoxworths created this scholarship to enable first-generation students like them to achieve their educational goals and pursue their dreams. As is clear, Jerry and Frances have always seen education as crucial to their personal success and fulfilling lives. Jerry understood from his own experience, the difference education could have on one’s life. He also recognized the importance of the GI Bill in providing him the opportunity to fulfill his dream and maximize his talents. They are
46 The Talon | Fall 2021
forever grateful for the life-altering experience they enjoyed at Central Methodist College, where they pursued their educational goals and found each other.
Dr. Thomas and Lora Perry Scholarship Dr. Thomas A. and Lora M. Perry spent 20 years in the Central community, from 19431963. While Tom spent his time as an English professor and chair of the department, while Lora was known for the kindergarten classes she taught in Fayette and in later years teaching freshman English at CMU. They loved interacting with and hosting Central students in their home. These included the monthly Scribblers and Scrawlers meetings and the “parties” after the final performance of a theater play Dr. Perry directed. They were world travelers. Having grown up in Puerto Rico as the son of a missionary, Tom came by his international interests naturally. In 1959, he received a government Smith-Mundt Grant to teach at the Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico. When he left Central in 1963, it was to accept a Fulbright Fellowship to be the first American lecturer at the University of Bucharest in Romania. Following the year-long stay in Romania, he spent the 1964 summer at Oxford University in England before returning to the United States.
Tom Perry believed literature would give individuals an understanding of cultural diversity and that this would contribute to the development of their tolerance for others. Three of their four children and one grandchild are Central graduates, along with several spouses, nephews, and nieces. The Tom and Lora Perry Lounge in Classic Hall where Dr. Perry taught was funded in honor of them by their children.
Dr. Tad, ’65, and Carolyn Summers Perry, ’66, Scholarship Carolyn and Tad Perry, both CMU graduates, remain active with the CMU community – Carolyn as a member of the CMU Alumni Association Board of Directors and Tad as a member of the Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2021 (Board Chair 2013-2021). Carolyn (Summers) graduated from Central Methodist College in 1966 where she distinguished herself as a leader (president of her Delta Phi Omega sorority, student body secretary, member of the Judicial Court, elected to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities). She was a math and business major (not majors where you found many women). This despite the fact she came to college after skipping her senior year at Armstrong High School.
