A HELPING HAND: LORI R I C HAR DS AND KEN NEW BA K E R E STABLISH SCHOLAR SH I P
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ori Richards, ’82, and her husband, Ken Newbaker, are changing the lives of NIU students. The couple’s $500,000 estate gift will help students struggling to finance their education. But if someone had told Richards five years ago she would one day fund a scholarship, she wouldn’t have believed them. “I used to say I would not donate money to my colleges,” Richards admits. “I always wanted to put my resources into what I considered more life-or-death causes. But then I learned NIU is focused on some of the things I care very, very deeply about.” Richards graduated from NIU with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a passion for social justice and politics. She went on to law school and a 24-year career in the Securities and Exchange Commission. That was followed by eight
LORI RICHARDS, '82
years of compliance consulting for financial institutions before her retirement two years ago. Shortly after retiring, Richards read a news article about an organization in El Paso, Texas, serving migrant families who had been processed and released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “These shelters were staffed with volunteers – lots and lots of nuns and lots and lots of lawyers,” Richards said. “I’m a lawyer, and
College is the stepping stone not only to greater financial security but also to having a satisfying and rewarding career doing what you love 14
— LORI RICHARDS, '82
