Concordia Magazine

Join the Legacy Scholarship Society

By Sheldon Green

A desire to help students while keeping pace with today’s economic realities has led Richard Solberg ’68 to advocate for the creation of the Legacy Scholarship Society. By joining the Legacy Society, donors make a $5,000 gift to be renewed annually to support the college’s most important priority – students.

"Keeping Concordia affordable for everyone is a personal passion of mine," says Solberg, board chairman and CEO at State Bank & Trust, Fargo. "I know this feeling is shared by many alumni and friends of the college."

Donors to the society may personalize their gift by naming their scholarship and potentially meeting the student who receives it, or the donor may designate their gift within an academic major or geographic region.

For instance, Solberg, who grew up in Finley, N.D., has designated that his scholarship goes to a deserving student from rural North Dakota.

By coincidence, another Finley native, Hadley Verwest '59, has asked that his Legacy Society scholarship assistance be given to students who are pre-med majors.

"Helping students get into the medical field is an interest of mine," he says.

A retired physician living in St. Paul, Minn., Verwest enrolled at Concordia in 1955 after receiving a $1,000 scholarship.

"I got it because I was the class salutatorian, and a thousand dollars was a lot of money back then," says Verwest. "I felt honored by the scholarship. It said Concordia had confidence in me."

Gifts to the Legacy Society will be used solely for scholarships, and awards to students will be based on need or scholastic achievement.

The gifts will be perpetual, meaning they would be given each year until the donor gives notice to the college for their scholarship to stop.

"Our inaugural goal is to fund 100 scholarships this year," says Solberg.

But long term, he hopes donors will fund 200 scholarships annually, which would help lessen the amount of tuition dollars given back to students as financial aid.

"The pressure to increase financial aid will only be greater in future years," he says.

Solberg believes the Legacy Society will successfully help lower the cost of attending Concordia for deserving students because it is a "feel good" program.

"Being able to honor someone by giving a scholarship in their name is very appealing," says Solberg. "I think there are many alumni and friends who believe in helping students in need and who have the capacity to give a $5,000 annual gift to the college."

Photo: Sheldon Green

There are other benefits to belonging to the Legacy Scholarship Society and several creative options for designating a gift. Contact Gary Haugo, director of development, by email at haugo@cord.edu or toll free at (800) 699-9896.

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