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A List
5/29/06
LOCAL FAMILY FOUNDATION ESTABLISHES TWO SLU FUNDS
CANTON - A family foundation based in the North Country has established funds at
St. Lawrence University to benefit its University Fellows program and Center for
Civic Engagement and Leadership.
The Thompson-Weatherup Family Charitable Foundation, the Board of Directors of which
includes members of the immediate family of Robert M and Esther Weatherup Thompson,
of Canton, has established the funds at St. Lawrence.
Robert M and Esther Thompson raised their 10 children on a family-owned dairy farm
in Lisbon, and helped to support their children's higher education for 55 years.
The mission of the Foundation is to make grants to charitable and educational
organizations for activities related to environmental, social and economic
opportunities associated with natural resource management and community development
in St. Lawrence County and the surrounding region.
Many members of the Thompson family are associated with St. Lawrence University.
Of their 10 children, two sons, a daughter and a son-in-law are graduates, and
a third son attended St. Lawrence: Robert M and Esther Thompson's daughter,
Marcia T. Hostetter, of Canton, graduated from the University in 1984 and her
husband, Robert J. Hostetter, graduated from St. Lawrence in 1985; Donald P.
Thompson, of Elmore, Vermont, graduated from St. Lawrence in 1980; Stephen C.
Thompson, of Wyoming, Delaware, graduated from the University in 1983; and
David B. Thompson, of Cobleskill, New York, attended St. Lawrence, transferring
to Cornell University and graduating from there.
Robert M and Esther Thompson said, "The North Country has been a good area in which
to raise and educate our family. We're interested in helping students learn about
the quality of life the region offers. We also want to encourage appreciation of
the natural resources that are available here and their relationship to the
future of the county and area."
The Thompson-Weatherup Family Charitable Foundation University Fellows Fund
will assist in funding the Fellows program, now in its eighth year. It provides
a stipend to students to allow them to pursue independent research, conducted
with faculty mentors, in the summer. For this specific fund, preference will be
given to students interested in environmental, social and economic opportunities
associated with natural resource management and community development in
St. Lawrence County.
The Thompson-Weatherup Family Charitable Foundation Fund Supporting the Center
for Civic Engagement and Leadership will support initiatives of the Center,
including student community mentors who work with community partners to identify
needs and develop partnership programs addressing those needs; orientation,
leadership development, workshops and other training; academic programming that
combines community-based learning experiences with credit-bearing course work;
dissemination of student research results across campus and the community; and the
monitoring and assessment of program accomplishments from the perspective of
both the University and the community.
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More information: The 2006 University Fellows
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