Centre receives $16.4 million endowment bequest

RELEASED: January 15, 2009

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College has received a bequest of $16.4 million from the estate of Alfred M. and Mary Swain Wood of Dallas, Texas. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wood were Kentucky natives. Mr. Wood was a long-time employee of the Procter & Gamble Company, based in Dallas. Mrs. Wood's brother, Enos Swain, was a Danville resident and publisher of what is now the Advocate Messenger newspaper. Mrs. Wood passed away in May 2007, having been a widow for about ten years.

The Wood bequest is among the three largest gifts the College has received.

This generous estate gift will endow a scholarship that will be known as The Alfred M. and Mary Swain Wood Scholarship. Students who are enrolled full-time at Centre will be eligible for the scholarship. Additionally, recipients will be chosen on the basis of financial need, scholarship and character.

"Centre College is very pleased to be the beneficiary of Al and Mary Wood's generosity," says Richard Trollinger, vice president for college relations. "They were wonderful people, and it is very much like them to want the fruits of their labor to be used to extend the opportunity for a life-shaping education to bright and aspiring students.

"For more information on other scholarships and financial aid at Centre, click here.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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