Dr. Ray M. Bowen’s steady leadership, especially during tragedy, has inspired one businessman to invest in the education of an Aggie cadet. The Texas A&M president’s skill at handling the Bonfire crisis and the subsequent investigation moved this philanthropist ―who has chosen to remain anonymous―to establish the Ray Bowen General Rudder Corps Scholarship.

He contacted Dr. Robert Walker ’58, senior executive for development for Texas A&M University, to discuss creating the scholarship in Bowen’s honor. After cashing out a life insurance policy of more than $50,000, the businessman worked with the Texas A&M Foundation and Walker to finalize the gift agreement. The interest from the $50,000 endowment will generate annual stipends of $2,500 to fund the scholarship, which will be awarded next fall.

Dr. Ray Bowen '58           & Dr. Robert Walker '58

Walker said the donor’s decision was based on his interactions with both Bowen and Texas A&M. “He’s a man who has known and respected Dr. Bowen for years,” Walker said. “He also admires A&M’s military heritage and has always marveled at the Corps of Cadets and Aggie Band.”

The General Rudder Corps Scholarship program encourages outstanding young men and women to learn leadership in the Corps of Cadets while also helping to pay for their education. “I am deeply honored by this gift to the Corps of Cadets,” said Bowen, who graduated from Texas A&M in 1958. “The Corps leadership experience is an important part of my life.  That experience is one of the reasons so many of us could cope with the Bonfire tragedy.”

By Dorian Martin