Kenton Adler establishes endowed scholarship
in his father’s name

January 30, 2006

By Wil Shane
Lyon College News Bureau

Adler is a German name meaning, “eagle,” and a new scholarship endowment established to honor that name will help keep Lyon College’s Scottish Heritage Program flying high.

On Jan. 10, 2006, Kenton Adler, Lyon’s academic services coordinator, made an agreement with the College to honor his late father by establishing the Lenard Adler Memorial Endowed Scholarship to benefit a student each year in the Scottish Heritage Program. Kenton worked with Claudia Marsh, a development officer at Lyon College, to establish this scholarship.

“The students who receive the scholarship can be pipers, drummers or dancers,” Kenton said.

Additionally, the student must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0, and display both strong leadership skills and demonstrate financial need. A committee consisting of Kenton and/or another member of the Adler family, the dean of students, the director of financial aid and the director of Scottish Heritage, will choose the award recipient based on those criteria.

The award will come from the earnings on the endowment fund’s market value at a percentage rate set annually by the Board of Trustees.

Kenton, who is a member of the Lyon Pipe Band, said his father’s lack of Scottish ancestry did nothing to quell the passion he felt for Lyon’s program.

“He supported the program through my involvement with it,” he said. “He liked being around the guys in the band, and he loved the College. He’d visit the campus three or four times a year.”

Lenard especially enjoyed convocations and other ceremonies, Kenton said.

“He went with us to Fort Smith once for a Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans, and he really loved that,” he recalled.

Marsh said she met the senior Adler on another trip with the Pipe Band and she saw firsthand what the program meant to him.

“I met Lenard on the trip to New York when the Pipe Band marched in the Tartan Day Parade in April of 2004,” she said. “He marched with the Pipe Band down 6th Avenue from 44th to 58th street. He was very proud of his son, Kenton, and his involvement with the Scottish Heritage Program here at Lyon College. It is most appropriate that Kenton and his family would establish this scholarship in memory of Mr. Adler.”

For information about contributing to an existing scholarship, or establishing a new one, contact Tim Bruner, vice president of institutional advancement at 870-698-4208, or by e-mail at: tbruner@lyon.edu.

Interested parties may also contact Claudia Marsh, development officer, at 870-793-1767, or by e-mail at: cmarsh@lyon.edu.

At the recent memorial service in Colorado for Lenard Adler are (from left) Lyon Pipe Major Jimmy Bell; Mr. Adler’s daughter, Lauren Adler; her daughter. Erin Dirvonas; and Kenton Adler, his son. The Adler family has established a scholarship in honor of Mr. Adler.                                                                                                                                Photo by Nancy Love