West Endowed Scholarship established at Lyon College
April 25, 2005
The Board of Trustees of Lyon College has established the Dan C. West Endowed Scholarship in honor of Lyon’s 14th president. The scholarship was made possible through an endowment created by the R.E.L. Wilson Trust of Wilson, Ark. The scholarship honors Dr. West, who served from 1972-1988.
The West Scholarship will provide one full-tuition scholarship each year, renewable for up to eight semesters of full-time study as long as the recipient achieves and maintains a 3.2 cumulative grade point average.
West Scholars will be selected by the president of the college upon the recommendation of the Office of Enrollment Services. In selecting the award recipients, the college will seek students of exceptional promise who are likely to make outstanding contributions to Lyon.
The college will consider high school performance, leadership and service outside the classroom and performance on standardized tests as criteria in making the selection. The scholarship is reserved for Arkansas residents and recipients are expected to live on campus. The first award will be made for fall 2006.
Dan C. West became the 14th president of Lyon (then Arkansas College) in 1972. He is a graduate of Austin College, Union Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University and Harvard University. Dr. West’s educational career includes positions at Austin College, Carroll College and Union College. He currently serves as vice president of development at Swarthmore College.
“For more than thirty years, Dan West has served higher education with distinction and courage,” said Dr. Walter Roettger, president of Lyon. “President West led the college forward from the devastating impact of the 1973 tornado. His 16-year tenure as president of Lyon College was marked by growth in enrollment and endowment, by construction, and by increased visibility. Dan and Sidney West brought energy, dynamism and vision to this campus. We are very grateful to the R.E.L. Wilson Trust for this generous gift. It honors one of the very best.”
The college made the first of many appearances in U.S. News & World Report as one of the best regional colleges in the South under Dr. West’s leadership.
Dr. West and his wife, Sidney, established the West Endowed String Concert Series in 1981 to offer live musical performances or stringed instrument instruction at Lyon.