Donor Stories

Outside the window, a spring rain fell on the flowers surrounding the University of Northern Iowa Foundation building. Inside, in a softly lit room, sat a couple from Cedar Rapids talking with a Northern Iowa freshman. The student thanked the couple for helping pay for her education. The smiles on all three faces might have further indicated family.

In fact, Stephanie Tevenal was the recipient of a scholarship set up in the couple's name. However, to Jack and Pam Breithaupt, Stephanie and the many other students who received the Dr. Jack and Pam Breithaupt Scholarship are family.

Jack served as a psychology professor at the University in the 1960's and had a private psychological practice in Cedar Rapids for 25 years. Pam received her bachelor's degree in education from the University in 1967 and worked as a teacher and school counselor for 33 years before retiring in 2002. For both, creating a scholarship fund was important. "It may sound somewhat corny-but it's the joy of giving. The idea of helping a student was very appealing," said Jack. Pam added, "If it hadn't been for a scholarship similar to the one we created, I might not have been able to go to college. I wanted to create the same opportunity for another student."

The Breithaupts' scholarship started in the early 1980's when Jack called Bill Calhoun, who was then serving as UNI's Assistant Vice President of Development. The Breithaupts wanted to give back something to a college that had given them so much and help a deserving student in the process. However, they placed a stipulation on the money-they were to remain anonymous donors. The scholarship was given every year for several years anonymously. At Calhoun's urging, the Breithaupts changed the nature of their scholarship from an anonymous gift to a scholarship in their names. They also changed the way in which the scholarship was structured. Instead of providing an annual gift to support the scholarship, they created an endowment fund by making a larger gift of appreciated stocks.

While continuing to provide cash gifts to the endowment, Jack and Pam worked with Calhoun to increase the fund's size through several estate planning measures. The first was naming the endowment fund as the beneficiary of some life insurance policies. Second, they wrote into their wills that a certain percentage of their estate would be given to the endowment fund.

Jack and Pam hoped that, through their estate plan, the Breithaupt Scholarship would continue to grow and many more students would benefit. "We looked at our own family and said, 'They're making it. We need to give to people that really need our help,' so we looked to UNI and decided to make the scholarship endowment one of the beneficiaries of our estate," explained Jack.

The Breithaupts wanted to assist students who have the desire to learn. "The type of students we want to help are the ones who are motivated, who want to make something of themselves," said Jack.

The Breithaupts took a personal interest in their scholarship recipients and helped make a college education possible for many who could not have afforded it on their own. Although Jack passed away in early 1998, and Pam now lives in New Mexico, the generosity of the Breithaupts will continue to impact future generations of students-just like it has Stephanie.

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