Delta College to offer new scholarship to honor longtime faculty member

A new endowment has been established that will fund a scholarship program to honor Mary Jane Cooper. Cooper worked for Delta College for over 20 years, assisting students with tutoring and test preparation. Cooper's family established the endowment to honor her memory and legacy after she passed away in July. The scholarships will be awarded to underserved students.

In her 20 plus years working for Delta College, Mary Jane Cooper spent her time tutoring and for a time directed the college's Teaching Learning Center. Cooper grew up in the Bay City area and spent her life working in education. According to her obituary, she developed that passion for education in high school then went on to earn a degree in biology from Olivet College.

The initial endowment investment is around $30,000 and is slated to award two scholarships of $1,000 every year. Awards will go to students who have a GPA of 2.5 or higher, hail from Saginaw, Midland, or Bay counties, and can demonstrate financial need. In an article posted by mlive.com, Mary Jane Cooper's son, Chris Cooper, explained why setting up the fund was so important to the family, "We felt strongly about it for lots of reasons. I also think importantly, none of the family members live in the tri-county area anymore and our parents lived their entire lives, their parents lived their entire lives, and even many of the great grandparents lived their entire lives in Bay City. That wealth that we inherited came from Bay City, and we wanted to make sure there was at least a modest expression of our gratitude… that would continue to help Bay City."

The Delta College Board of Trustees is scheduled to officially approve the fund December 2, 2020. Those wishing to contribute can do so through the Delta College Foundation.