琼斯的目标是 赋予下一代权力 通过奖学金

Mike Jones ’72 wants students to have the same college experience he did. 这就是为什么他和他的妻子, 琳达, started the William “Mike” ’72 and 琳达 Jones Scholarship with a generous gift.

“The cooperative nature of the curriculum—I’m a firm believer in that,迈克说. “I don’t know a whole lot of colleges that have cooperative education.”

Mike and 琳达 have known each other all of their lives. Their parents were friends, but they didn’t start dating until the summer before Mike headed to GMI. They married in 1970 in the midst of Mike’s college career. 

在GMI, Mike joined the Sigma Nu fraternity and served as president of his chapter during his senior year, 他深情地回忆着那段时光.

“We had good people and good times,” he said.

琳达 credited that time with developing Mike’s leadership skills.

“Employees of Dexter Axle were always saying what a good manager he was,” she said. “He learned that skill being a 合作社 student and leading the fraternity.”

Mike earned his Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and spent the first decade of his career at his 合作社, the Frigidaire division of General Motors. From there, he spent 30 years working for Dexter Axle Company, where he retired as its President.

He could have started a job out of high school and skipped college, but the cooperative education model at GMI appealed to him.

“我没有足够的资金. 在我的日子里, what you earned during the work session went a long way to covering tuition costs, 但它并没有做到这一切,迈克说. “You could get by if you had a little help, and a couple of scholarships would help students a lot.”

He described himself as “need-based,” so he and 琳达 hope their scholarship can help students fill that financial gap.

“We’re hoping it allows a student who wouldn’t be able to pay their way to benefit from that,琳达说. “As time goes on, the endowment will grow, and perhaps more than one student can benefit.”

To qualify for the scholarship, students must demonstrate financial need. A preference will go to students majoring in industrial and/or manufacturing engineering.