By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Bob and Ellen (Bowen) Thompson have given millions to Bowling Green State University.
Their names are prominently featured on campus. The Bowen Thompson quadrangle in the oldest section of campus bears their name.So does the nearby student union.
That’s in recognition of the scholarships they fund. Fittingly this morning (May 2) the Thompsons were in the grand ballroom at the Bowen-Thompson Student Union for what the university called a historic.
The Thompsons have agreed to increased contributions to the university that brings their Toal gifts to $121 million. There is also a possibility of an additional $30 million to extend the program to 2035. With matching funds provided by the university that brings the value of the Thompson foundations contributions to BGSU to close to a quarter billion dollars the largest gift in BGSU history, the largest for scholarships in Ohio, and one of the largest non-endowment gifts in the country.
That money is not a handout; it’s a collaboration.
The Thompsons give money to BGSU annually, and BGSU every year must report on how the students who get those scholarships have performed. The university must show that 80 percent of students in the Thompson Working Family Scholarship Program are graduating in four years or less. The university matches the Thompsons’ contributions dollar for dollar.
If the university doesn’t do its part, it’s on the hook, said President Rodney Rogers.
For their part students, in exchange for the $11,000 a year, must keep their GPAs at 2.75 or above and complete at least 20 hours of community service. In 2022-2023 the scholars’ average GPA was 3.59, and their cumulative community service hours totaled 26,532, the university reported.
Rogers said the arrangement “came with a lot of accountability. It wasn’t a blank check to BGSU. It wasn’t a handout to students…. It’s a shared three -way commitment. It is not a gift; it is a partnership.”
Ten years ago, the program started small with just over 50 students, and has grown over the years. “They pressure-tested the program,” Rogers said.
“To have a successful program,” Mr. Thompson said, “all parties have to have skin in the game.”
There were more than 1,000 Thompson Family Scholars last academic year at BGSU.
Cecilia Castellano, Vice President of enrollment management, said that 240 scholars are in the incoming fall, 2024 class. The number has grown each year.
The new donation extends the program through 2035 and will serve by that time 6,200 students.
The Thompsons graduated with education degrees from BGSU, he in 1955 and she in 1954, and are Falcon Flames. They will celebrate their 69th wedding anniversary in September.
Bob Thompson came to BGSU on a football scholarship. He hitchhiked to campus from Michigan. But an injury knocked him out of football. A coach, though, worked to make sure he was able to graduate, keeping Thompson’s promise to his mother.
After serving in the Air Force, Bob Thompson bought a small asphalt business. As the interstate highway system and airports grew, so did the business. When the Thompsons sold the business in 1999, they shared the wealth with their employees, making some of them millionaires. Mr. Thompson went on to operate two more construction-related businesses, which he built up and sold.
“He may not be ready to quit now,” his wife said.
“Whatever Ellen and I have done or will do for Bowling Green,” Mr. Thompson said, “pales in comparison to what Bowling Green has done for us.”
The couple first donations were to help launch the President’s Leadership Academy. They are doubling to 20 the number of students whom they support in the academy. The family also supports scholarships for military scholarship program.
It was Ellen Thompson who came up with the idea for the program to benefit students from working families.
She said through her reading and talking with people she realized there was a financial gap in higher education. People with a lot of money there were many institutions their offspring could attend. For those on the bottom of the economic ladder, they were eligible for financial aid programs. But it was getting harder and harder for middle class families especially if they had several children, to afford college.
The Thompson scholarships were meant to bridge that gap.
Castellano said that the financial support and guidance the Thompson program helps BGSU in recruiting. The $11,000 covers about 80 percent of the cost of tuition, she said It helps alleviate that financial burden.”
Alex Johnson, a 2023 graduate bachelor’s degree in nursing, said he decided to attend BGSU because of the scholarship. “it allowed me to pursue a degree without the stress.” He’s now a nurse at the Cleveland Clinic.
Steve Iwanek, who graduated last weekend in journalism, also said that the Thompson scholarship brought him to BGSU, and allowed him to graduate with minimal debt. That in turn made it possible to take a job he loved and not be concerned about having debt to pay back. He’s now a reporter for WTOL in Toledo.
Mykera Gardner, a rising senior majoring in musical theater, said she became a Thompson Scholar in her sophomore year. It played a major role in allowing her to stay at BGSU and to feel free to study theater.
A rising senior studying psychology, Julianne Bailey was all smiles as she greeted the Thompsons after the announcement. The financial aid through the Thompson program “impacted my whole life.”
Pam Conlin, BGSU vice president for university advancement, said that the Thompson program was not created as an endowment because the Thompsons “want to get money into the hands of as many students as possible to benefit more students right away.”
With an endowment, only a percentage of funds, currently 4 percent, can be expended each year. “That would not benefit as many students,” she said.
She said BGSU is already working on how to maintain funding beyond 2035. That includes connecting with Thompson scholars to foster their engagement with the university. “They’ve already said they want to give back.”
In their conversations with scholars, Mrs. Thompson said, “they talk about paying it forward, and I think they will.”
