Brief: Lives Transformed

Self-reliance, empathy and a heart full of adventures to come. Those are just some of the things Furman students bring home from a study away trip. They often express a new appreciation for their own country, paired with new critiques, after experiencing different governing models, health care systems, cultures or terrains.

Becky Folds ’81 and her husband, Adnan Rukieh, made a gift to student scholarships through Furman University’s Center for Engaged Learning, in memory of Folds’ cousin, Sallie Grant, who was a professor of education emerita.

Nearly three years after her passing, Grant’s passion for travel, teaching and Furman will impact students in perpetuity.

“When Adnan and I were thinking about how we might want to leave a legacy and honor Sallie in some way, the most natural way seemed to be to honor her love of exploration. Sallie never turned down a chance to go to a new place, and she had a gift for incorporating her experiences into her teaching,” Folds says of Grant, who joined Furman’s faculty in 1971 and retired in 1993.

Nancy Georgiev, director of study away and international education, said resources from need-based financial aid are crucial to the center, fulfilling its mission of making study away opportunities accessible to every student.

“We know these scholararships make a difference because students tell us themselves, while sharing stories of transformative learning moments, first times on airplanes, and the sites and tastes of the world,” she said.

The gift from Folds and Rukieh is just one of the many life-enriching gifts alumni and friends of the university are making through Clearly Furman, the Campaign for Our Third Century. The historic, comprehensive campaign has a goal of raising $426 million for specific priorities by 2026.

Like Folds and Rukieh, Cindy Davis ’84, a former vice president of Nike, Inc. and president of Nike Golf, also sees creating opportunities for Furman students as a way to make the world better.

Davis, a current trustee who was a three-time All-American and runner-up at the 1983 NCAA Championships while a student-athlete at Furman, committed $500,000 to create scholarships for members of the women’s golf team. Prior to Nike, Davis was senior vice president at the Golf Channel, a division of Comcast Corporation, and was chief executive officer of Arnold Palmer Golf Company and vice president at the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Davis had previously joined Brad Faxon ’83 as the primary benefactors of the Davis Faxon Training Center for women’s and men’s golf teams located at the teams’ practice facility.

John ’54 and Jeanette Cothran, two of Furman’s most devoted supporters, committed $1 million to be distributed across the renovation of Timmons Arena, Cothran Endowed Scholarships (part of the Partners Program) and the Cothran Center for Vocational Reflection. The center, named after the Cothrans, opened in 2001. Through programs for faculty, staff, students, alumni and members of the broader Furman community, the Cothran Center helps participants explore their purpose and calling – leading to a clearer sense of what constitutes a meaningful life for each individual. John Cothran has been a leader in real estate development in Greenville since 1956 and is retired leading several building and development companies he founded. Jeanette has been a long-time community volunteer with numerous organizations, including First Baptist Church and Meals on Wheels.