SPEARFISH Dr. James Hess, professor of psychology and chairman of the School of Behavioral Sciences at Black Hills State University, recently pledged a $1 million gift to BHSU to establish the School of Behavioral Sciences Make a Difference Initiative. In exchange for scholarship funds, students will be challenged to lead sustainable community projects designed to make a difference in the lives of others.

Hess has been a psychology professor at BHSU for 32 years and his generous donation is equivalent to the salary he made in his first 19 years of teaching at BHSU. He says he intends to keep teaching as long as he feels like he is making a difference in the lives of students.

This million-dollar scholarship gift from Professor Hess will have a profound impact on students while they earn their degrees by providing scholarship funds and encouraging community leadership skills. However, the Make a Difference Initiative also ensures our graduates will become leaders in their future communities, BHSU President Tom Jackson, Jr., said. I commend Professor Hess for his visionary idea and express my sincere thanks for his generosity and commitment to Black Hills State University.

By establishing the Make a Difference Initiative, Hess hopes to change the culture of scholarship funding by encouraging recipients to give back right from the start and continue that practice long after they graduate.

Even while theyre receiving funds from the initiative, I want our scholarship recipients to engage and make a difference in the lives of others, said Hess. I want the students to remember their experience years from now, changing their attitude and encouraging them to continue giving back.

The initiatives board of directors will meet this year to polish the initiative and will distribute the first two $2,500 scholarships in 2015. In addition to the scholarship, recipients will receive a $2,500 match allocated for student projects. Future scholarships and projects will be added in the coming years, and the dollar amounts will be increased.

Students receiving the Make a Difference Initiative scholarships must give something more than going to class and getting good grades, said Hess.

Student projects must create sustainable solutions, said Hess, referencing the proverb give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Examples of sustainable solution projects described in the initiatives planning document include implementation of a self-concept improvement program for a womens shelter or designing a summer camp for children of divorced families.

Steve Meeker, BHSU vice president for university advancement, said Hess gift will teach students how to make a difference in peoples lives while also teaching them to give back in both time and treasure.

Dr. Hess gift is extremely generous, and he has a great plan to motivate future leaders, said Meeker. This gift sends a strong message as to what BHSU and our students mean to him and is very much appreciated.

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Professor donates $1 Million to BHSU