By Maegan Rocio
Staff Writer
Tuition is rising, but donations are flowing in.
Baylor received a $7 million gift from the estate of Baylor alumnus Richard Goode. The gift will benefit the Richard and Liesel Goode Endowed Academic Scholarship Fund.
“It is a merit and need-based scholarship for undergraduate students,” said William Dube, director of the Endowed Scholarship Program. “It’s not restricted to a particular major.”
Dube said the Baylor University Scholarship Committee reviews student applications to determine need, and then distributes scholarships.
Susan Wommack, the gift-planning attorney of the Baylor University Endowed Scholarship Program, said Goode established the scholarship fund to give future Baylor students the opportunities he had by attending Baylor.
“He was the first person in his family to ever go to college,” Wommack said “They were very poor. He showed up with essentially a suitcase from the Fort Worth area and had nothing, and Baylor provided him a new world. It opened doors. The education he received at Baylor opened doors for him he never dreamed were possible.”
In 1916, Goode was born to a poor farming family in Fort Worthin 1916. After graduating from high school, he decided to come to Baylor.
In an interview conducted by Professor Stephen H. Gardner in 1998,, Goode said, “I liked Baylor, and I had a cousin and an uncle who had attended Baylor. There was a family connection, and interestingly enough, I had an aunt who was in my class.” ”
Wommack said while at Baylor, Goode’s professors gave him jobs as a student grader to earn extra money.
After graduating from Baylor with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1937, Goode attended Kentucky State University and graduated after earning his master of arts degree. In 1947, he attended and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a doctorate of philosophy.
During his career as an economist, Goode worked for the U.S. Bureau of Budget and as a economics professor at the University of Chicago. He was also involved in the founding of the International Monetary Fund and served as the first director for the Fiscal Affairs Department in 1965.
Goode also worked as consultant and was guest scholar for the U.S. Treasury Department, the Brookings Institution, and the United Nations. He taught at John Hopkins University for seven years and retired in 1988.
He was presented with the Daniel M. Holland Medal in 1997for his contributions to the field of public finance.
In 1999, Goode and his wife, Liesel, created the Richard and Liesel Endowed Scholarship Fund at Baylor to help any Baylor students in need.
Goode died at the age of 93 on July 18, 2010. During his lifetime, he was known for his work in the field of economics, for his philanthropy and his great love for his alma mater.
“He loved to visit Baylor University,” said Dube. “He would get emotional because of the opportunity he had and being able to come with scholarship and work assistance.”
“We are blessed that he gave this provision,” Dube added. “We are grateful to him for the provision to help Baylor students on a need basis.”
During the time she knew him, Wommack said Baylor meant a lot to Goode.
“I wish other people would have had the opportunity to see the emotion when we would visit him in Washington D.C. and bring a little touch of Baylor to him and how he looked at Baylor as part of his family,” she said. “That’s why we received his estate. That was his family. Even though he didn’t know them, he knew the type of individual Baylor produced.”
