PNC Announces Sen. Anita Bowser Scholarship Fund

WESTVILLE – Purdue University North Central Chancellor Dr. James B. Dworkin has announced that The Anita Bowser Scholarship Fund has been established to aid qualified Purdue North Central (PNC) students.

The Anita Bowser Scholarship was endowed in honor and memory of Indiana State Senator Anita Bowser, who passed away March 4th at the age of 86.

Senator Bowser’s family, her former legislative assistant, Russell Bennett and her long-time friend, Sue Webster worked together to establish this endowment in her memory. Friends and colleagues donated more than $20,000, the amount necessary to permanently endow a scholarship, to the fund in Bowser’s name.

“Senator Bowser was very passionate in her support for PNC. A founding faculty member, she was extremely proud of the campus and all that she was able to accomplish in her tenure there,” said Bennett. “She will always be remembered for her work in the Indiana Senate, but we also wanted to commemorate her legacy and to ensure that she had a continuing impact on the students of PNC. We hope that this scholarship will help students who share her passion for learning and love of political science pursue an education at Purdue North Central.”

Sue Webster was a student at PNC when she met Bowser. “I have always considered myself blessed to have Anita as a friend; it is truly an honor for me to help establish this endowment in her memory,” Webster said. “The generous contributions to this fund show just how much of an impact Anita had in our community and how respected she is. This is our way of giving back to a person who gave so much to us.”

The Anita Bowser Scholarship will support one or more annual scholarships for Purdue North Central undergraduate students in the Department of Social Sciences who display academic merit. The scholarship is renewable.

“All who knew Senator Bowser understood her passion for education and her loyalty to PNC,” said Dworkin. “We are deeply honored that this scholarship has been established in Senator Bowser’s name. We will miss Anita as an educator, as a legislator and as a friend. We look forward to awarding the first Anita Bowser Scholarship later this year.”

Bowser started her career as an educator in 1950 as one of the first instructors hired to teach at the Barker Mansion in Michigan City. She was held in high regard by her students and colleagues and was named the outstanding undergraduate teacher at a Purdue regional campus in 1969. In 1985 she earned the title of full professor. Bowser taught Constitutional law and was the guest speaker for the campus’s first Constitution Day.

Bowser served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1980 to 1992. During that time, she successfully combined her passions for education and politics through dual careers in the classroom and at the statehouse. She retired from teaching in 1991, after 41 years at PNC. In 1992 she was elected to the State Senate where she served as the Senator representing Senate District 8 until her death this March.

Further information about applying for the Anita Bowser Scholarship can be obtained by contacting the PNC Office of Financial Aid at 800-872-1231, ext. 5460. To make a contribution to the Anita Bowser Scholarship Fund contact Vice Chancellor for Advancement Joseph Goepfrich, 800-872-1231, ext. 5672.      

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