Donor Spotlight: John and Marcy Stalvey
The College of Arts and Sciences is fortunate to have many friends and donors who, through their generous gifts to the College, help us in supporting our students. John and Marcy Stalvey are two such friends of the College, who, through the creation of the Crossing the Finish Line Scholarship, support of the Peer Learning Assistants Program, and gifts to both the College and the Department of Biological Sciences Excellence Funds, have impacted the students of today and those of tomorrow.
During his time as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and his time as Provost, Dr. John Stalvey noticed a number of students were near completion of their four-year degrees, but were struggling to complete the last few courses. As the Stalveys discussed their philanthropic contributions to the university, Marcy Stalvey asked “why don’t we start something to make this a permanent award, specifically allocated to meet this need.” Their shared interest in student success is what led to the creation of the Crossing the Finish Line Scholarship, which provides financial assistance for educational related expenses to a full-time student who may otherwise be unable to complete their four-year degree program. The scholarship is provided to a student seeking a bachelor’s degree at the University of Alaska Anchorage within the College of Arts and Sciences, who is in their junior year or later.
Peer Learning Assistants (PLA) are selected undergraduate students who are hired to assist in the learning process. The PLA Program at UAA was launched at the beginning of 2020, and pairs PLAs with their peers in high demand entry-level courses. As a program dedicated to helping students succeed, supporting the Peer Learning Assistant Program was an easy decision for the Stalveys. One of the big draws to support the PLA Program, for Marcy Stalvey, was that “not only do the students benefit from the PLAs support, but the Peer Learning Assistants themselves get to dive deeper into these academic areas.” The Stalveys made the decision to give to the PLA Program, because they saw its impact and knew that it would enhance student success across the university.
While the College and Departmental Excellence Funds have historically been used to support students in a variety of ways, this year CAS is taking a slightly different approach. The College of Arts and Sciences is creating a unique scholarship for each CAS Department, using a combination of the College of Arts and Sciences and Departmental Excellence Funds. These scholarships will be awarded to one student from each department during our CAS Celebration of Students event on April 22nd. Dr. Stalvey had an inside track to how the Excellence Funds were going to be used, and knew that he wanted to be a part of this direct effort to support CAS student success. When discussing how they decided to give to the CAS and Biological Sciences Excellence Funds, Dr. Stalvey stated that “Marcy and I always want to make sure that we are giving to areas where the funds are needed, and where they can be well utilized.” This reflects the profound desire that John and Marcy Stalvey have to aid in the success of CAS students.
John and Marcy Stalvey said that they hope their philanthropy and support for student success will inspire others to help CAS students. Dr. Stalvey also wanted to encourage those interested in donating, especially in a specific area, to ask where funding will make the most impact. The CAS Celebration of Students will award 21 different Excellence Scholarships to outstanding students; awards like this are made possible by generous support of people like Marcy and John Stalvey. Thank you both.