The Thompson Sales Company provided $15,000 in matching funds for the 2025 Champions Challenge. The funds raised by the Champions Challenge help support student-athletes participating in Drury’s 20 NCAA programs and 12 non-NCAA sports. In total, 1,003 donors contributed $463,647 during the 2025 10-day campaign that concluded on Sept. 25. This year’s event marked the sixth year for the Champions Challenge, which has generated more than $1.6 million since its inception in 2020.
Drury University was awarded a $4,000 grant from the Stanley & Elaine Ball Foundation, managed by Central Trust Company, a division of Central Trust Bank. This generous funding recognizes Drury’s ongoing commitment to enhancing educational opportunities and supporting disadvantaged children in Springfield, as this gift provides books, materials, and light snacks for participating students involved in the Evening Reading Clinic.
Drury was selected to receive a prestigious Vocation Across the Academy Grant from the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and Lilly Endowment Inc. The four-year grant is enhanced by a generous matching gift from alums John and Crystal Tinlin Beuerlein ’75/’75. In total, the grant amounts to $225,000.
Drury University has been awarded a grant totaling $680,750 from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) for a TRiO Student Support Services (SSS) program at the university’s Drury GO Monett location. The federal grant spans five years, with Drury GO Monett receiving the first annual installment of $136,150 in September.
The dedication for the newly named Mercy Science Center took place on Sept. 18. One of Drury’s most important academic buildings was supported by a generous gift from Mercy Springfield Communities. This gift helps usher in Drury’s expanded efforts in the fields of science and health care education.
The Alice O. Coffman Trust provided a cash gift of $3.6 million that established a new scholarship, the Cleveland Newton Endowed Scholarship. It will provide funding for deserving Drury students every year.
Victor Agruso ’82 made an additional gift to the Dr. Victor M. Agruso Jr. Endowed Chair. The fund was created to honor his father, former Drury Professor and Department Chair Dr. Victor M. Agruso Jr. The purpose of the endowment is to provide funding to enrich the quality of Drury’s behavioral sciences by helping to attract other exceptional faculty. The fund also facilitates faculty and student research that ultimately will lead to published work in referenced journals.
The Bangs-Russell Foundation contributed to the Dr. Archie Russell Memorial Scholarship, established by Marian Russell, which assists Drury GO students and students in master’s programs.
John and Crystal Tinlin Beuerlein ’75/’75 pledged their support to Men’s and Women’s Swimming facility improvements and additional Advancement activities. John served 14 months between 2023 and 2024 as interim president and is a life trustee.
James Blanton and the Patricia Blanton Family funded the Patricia Jean Herron Blanton ’69 Endowed Scholarship, honoring the memory of their beloved wife and sister. The fund is to provide support to Drury undergraduate students.
Dr. Loren and Nancy Broaddus ’57/- established a planned gift to benefit Drury and our students. Loren served as a Drury trustee from 1978-2009 and was elected a Life Trustee in 2012.
David and Sue Ann Beedle Childers ’76/’77 contributed to the David and Sue Ann Childers ’76/’77 Family Endowed Scholarship, which provides support to students with financial need.
David and Billie Kay Farrar Gohn ’64/’65 established the David and Billie Kay Gohn Endowed Education Scholarship to provide support for Drury students who graduate from West Plains High School. David is an Emeritus Trustee and is a former Chair of the Board of Trustees.
