Money Talks: The Tales it Can Tell

By Lisa Himonas, MA

Scholarships at the College of Social Work support our students in their educational endeavors, but they also provide a glimpse into love stories, tales of adventurous cause-fighters, tragedies, and ultimately, encouragement and hope for the future.

The first endowed scholarship at the College was started in December 1980 through an estate gift from Maurice Warshaw, a noted business leader and philanthropist. Initially the fund provided loans as well as scholarships for students – until the mid-1990s when the University left the loan business. In 1998, when Maurice’s wife, Inez, passed away, generous family and friends sent additional gifts to this fund and it became known as the Maurice N. and Inez Warshaw Scholarship Fund. In its nearly 30 years, the Warshaw Scholarship has supported hundreds of students, providing an incredible service to the public as well as a lasting legacy to two outstanding community members.

Of the numerous scholarships that followed this first one, some honor parents, spouses, and other loved ones who have passed away, while others reflect the donors’ dedication to specific issues or to their overarching interest to support social work education. Some scholarships enjoy six-figure endowments; others are funded annually by a single donor or through combined gifts from anonymous donors. However they reach us, all of these scholarships provide much needed assistance to our students and serve as welcome indicators of support for the College.

If you have an interest in supporting our students this way, the opportunity to do so is here! We are in the midst of our spring phonathon so, if you hear from a friendly U of U student, we invite you to consider investing in the College of Social Work by giving to a specific scholarship, contributing to our general scholarship fund, or perhaps establishing a new scholarship! Whether you make a one-time gift, a long-term pledge, or a planned gift, every penny of your scholarship investment will go to support our students.

Editor’s Note: Keith Warshaw, son of Maurice and Inez Warshaw and a long-time friend of the College of Social Work, passed away in December of 2008. During his life, he helped operate 31 locations of his family’s Grand Central Stores, and in 1976, founded Keith Warshaw and Company, a department store in downtown Salt Lake City. Like his father, Mr. Warshaw became well known as a generous Utah philanthropist. His support and generosity provided much-needed financial support to social work students through the Maurice N. and Inez Warship Scholarship Fund.