Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) received a $2,508,490 gift from the estate of Virginia Leabow in April. The gift will create The Leabow Family Endowed Memorial Scholarship fund at LMU.
LMU’s largest scholarship gift to date, $500,000 will be designated for LMU-College of Veterinary Medicine scholarships, $250,000 for LMU-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine Scholarships, $250,000 for LMU Duncan School of Law scholarships and the remaining $1.5 million will fund undergraduate and graduate scholarships at LMU. The scholarships will be designated for students with financial need born in Bell or Harlan County, Kentucky, Lee County, Virginia or Claiborne County, Tennessee.
“This is a tremendous gift to LMU and we are very fortunate to have such dedicated friends of LMU,” LMU President B. James Dawson said. “Virginia Leabow was a lifelong educator, so I know she would be pleased to know that her gift will enable so many to further their education.”
Leabow’s paternal grandfather, Isham Greene Leabow, wrote the charter for LMU in 1897. Her father, Edwin Leabow, attended LMU and served as a bookkeeper at the University in 1920 before embarking on a career in the oil and gas industry serving as an accountant and vice president at various companies and eventually settling in California. Many other Leabow family members also had ties to LMU. Leabow lived in California and retired as an educator in 1985. She passed away in 2016.
Every year, LMU awards over $500,000 in donor-funded scholarships. The Leabow Family Endowed Memorial Scholarships will be awarded annually during the Student Awards and Recognition Program in April.
