CANYON, Texas — Gifts from a West Texas A&M University history professor and his recently retired wife will provide significant scholarship support for students in history and the arts.
Dr. Bruce Brasington, WT’s Twanna Caddell Powell Professor of History, and Darlene Brasington, former academic documentation coordinator for the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business, have given $25,000 to establish the Brasington Family Scholarship Endowment for History and have set up a $500,000 bequest through the I Am WT–Leaving a Legacy program.
“WT fosters individualized education where students aren’t just a number,” Bruce Brasington said. “I know that sounds trite, but I mean it. Students have a name here at WT, and those students make a difference because of WT. That’s who we’re helping with this gift.”
Legacy gifts can be set up through the Leaving a Legacy program in the form of wills, beneficiary designations, IRA charitable rollovers, charitable trusts and other avenues in order to magnify a donor’s philanthropic investments.
Half of the Brasingtons’ bequest is earmarked for the Department of History in WT’s Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts. Fifty percent will be used for scholarships, prioritizing non-education history majors, particularly first-generation students. Remaining funds will support faculty development, including travel, conference expenses, access to scholarly databases and more.
The other half will be set aside for both WT’s School of Music and the Department of Art, Theatre and Dance. Each area will receive significant scholarship funding, with preference given to first-generation students; remaining funds will be used for production expenses and faculty development.
The Brasingtons came to WT in the early 1990s when Bruce Brasington joined the history faculty. Darlene Brasington later earned her MBA at WT and began working at the University in 2019, retiring in January.
The Brasingtons worked with WT Foundation staff to determine specifics for their gift that would best honor their intent. While the history department was a natural fit, they said they also enjoy the cultural opportunities provided by the University’s performing arts programs.
“Our whole area benefits from WT, and we’ve benefitted personally,” Darlene Brasington said. “WT’s arts programs are a treasure, and our time at WT has been enriched by that. That’s why we’re giving back.”
Faculty and staff make a difference every day in the lives of students, said Lesly Bosch Annen, assistant vice president for development and leadership gifts.
“Gifts like this create a living legacy that will impact generations to come,” Annen said. “Students have been the center of the Brasingtons’ careers at WT, and they also are the center of their gifts and legacy.”
For information about leaving a legacy gift to WT, contact Annen or Keith Brown, major gift officer and Leaving a Legacy coordinator, or, by calling the WT Foundation office at 806-651-2070.
The Brasington’s planned gift supports WT’s historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which fuels the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
The campaign reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $150 million.
