During more than 30 years in South Carolina, Gwen (1958 B.A., 1960 M.A.) and Lyle (1959 B.A.) Brown never lost sight of their University of Iowa roots. Sure, it was hard to watch Hawkeye football games, but they always kept tabs on their alma mater and made annual gifts to help ensure that the UI had the resources to excel.

Now that the couple is retired, it’s much easier to cheer on the Hawkeyes and stay in touch with the UI in general. Lyle had long told Gwen that if she could find a nice piece of property overlooking the Mississippi River, he’d be happy to retire there. Gwen called his bluff, and found them a home in Fort Madison, Iowa, where Gwen grew up downriver from Lyle, a native of Clinton, Iowa.

Because the Browns wanted students from the Fort Madison and Clinton high schools to have the same educational opportunities they had, the couple had included The University of Iowa Foundation in their estate planning with a bequest to establish a scholarship. After moving back to Iowa, one way they took advantage of their newfound proximity to Iowa City was to attend the UI Foundation’s annual Named Scholarship Luncheon, at which scholarship donors and recipients get together to celebrate their shared love for the University.

At the luncheon in 2002, they realized that as happy as they were to have provided for a scholarship after they were gone, they wanted to be able to help students right away. “We decided we had the money, so why not establish the scholarship now when we can see the benefits?” says Lyle, who retired from the South Carolina Department of Social Services.

To make their gift, they used appreciated stock on which they would have otherwise had to pay capital gains taxes. “It was easy,” Lyle says. “The UI Foundation gave us instructions on the proper wording, and we called our broker and had the transfer done.”

Gwen, who worked as a guidance counselor, notes the satisfaction of seeing their generosity in action. “The UI does a great job of selecting who receives our scholarships,” she says, “and then we get to announce the recipients each year at Fort Madison High School, which is a lot of fun.”

She and Lyle -- who are members of The Presidents Club, which recognizes the University’s most generous benefactors, and life members of the UI Alumni Association -- also enjoy keeping in touch with “their” students.

No one knows where those students’ lives will take them -- but the Browns will always have the satisfaction of knowing they helped them get there with the Gwen and Lyle Brown Scholarships.

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