In 2023, the Chickasaw Nation established a Scholars Match program for Oklahoma colleges to receive $50,000 in dollar-for-dollar scholarship funding over a five-year period. On November 1, 2023, the Western Oklahoma State College Foundation, Inc. received a letter from Mark Tygret, Vice Chancellor for Budget and Finance, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, providing a donor agreement between the WOSC Foundation, Inc. and the Chickasaw Nation. The agreement provision required the WOSC Foundation, Inc. to match the allocated funds from annual contributions of $10,000 per year over the five-year period, which will total $100,000 in new scholarship funding.
Upon confirmation to the State Regents for Higher Education that matching funds had been secured, Western was awarded the 2024 Chickasaw Scholars Match of $10,000.
Western is extremely grateful for the abundantly unselfish gifts and pledges from donors willing to share this outstanding scholarship to help deserving students attending Western Oklahoma State College. A special thank you to Bar-S Foods Company, Jim and Vicky Click in honor of the Click Family, Larry Henton, Tricia Latham, CPA, Rex Nichols in honor of Larry and Sharon Duffy, Gerald Smith, Perry Warren in memory of C.A. Warren, Jr., Jeff and Kim Wilmes, Gary and Phyllis Winsett, and four anonymous donors.
The Click Family donation was a significant gift honoring an uncle, Holmes Tuttle, who was an Inductee of the Chickasaw Nation Hall of Fame. Holmes Tuttle was a successful businessman, politician, and enigmatic figure in Oklahoma History. Despite never holding public office, Tuttle had a great influence on several notable political figures. He was born in 1906 in Tuttle, Oklahoma, a town named after his father, James Harley Tuttle.
Larry Duffy, Executive Secretary for the WOSC Foundation, Inc., stated, “It was amazing how quickly we were able to generate our $50,000 match in support of this very beneficial scholarship support provided by the Chickasaw Nation. Our donors were eager to be supportive of an opportunity to help provide $100,000 in endowed funds, ensuring the provision of perpetual, undesignated scholarships for Western Oklahoma State College”.
Dr. Chad Wiginton, President of Western, was extremely supportive of our willingness to enter into the Chickasaw Nation Scholars Match Program. In response to the success of the foundation in generating the $50,000 matching funds, Dr. Wiginton said, “I am extremely grateful and overwhelmed by the generous financial support of thirteen visionary donors that unselfishly supported this effort.”
Mark Tygret, Vice Chancellor for Budget and Finance with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, stated in his initial letter on behalf of each institution for Higher Education in Oklahoma that is benefiting from the Chickasaw Nation, “We are grateful to the Chickasaw Nation for their generous support in providing higher education opportunities for Oklahoma citizens through the scholars’ match program. We are also appreciative of the dedicated efforts of your foundation in meeting the match to maximize the availability of scholarships to assist students in their educational pursuits”.
The Western Oklahoma State College Foundation provides the opportunity to invest in the future by offering many ways to give. The WOSC Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c) 3 organization and exists to generate support for the students and programs of Western Oklahoma State College. For more information on the WOSC Foundation and ways to give, visit wosc.edu/give.