Robert and Gwen Bottoms establish endowment for international study

Robert and Gwendolyn Bottoms gather with their family in front of the Robert G. Bottoms Alumni and Development Center on the DePauw University campus last fall. The former university president and first lady recently made a gift to fund an endowment for international study at DePauw.

Courtesy photo

Former DePauw University president Robert G. Bottoms and former first lady Gwen Bottoms have made a gift to support student international study, president D. Mark McCoy announced this week..

The Robert G. and Gwendolyn V. Bottoms Endowment for International Study will support students’ study-abroad experiences for a semester, summer, May term or winter term. The fund will provide support to minority students demonstrating financial need.

“Gwen and I remain deeply committed to the people and the mission of DePauw,” Bottoms said. “We believe international study is an increasingly important part of the DePauw experience in preparing students for global citizenship. We are pleased to make a gift to make these experiences possible for current and future generations of students.”

The Bottoms Fund will enhance the university’s strong tradition of experiential learning, particularly in international studies. DePauw ranks seventh among four-year baccalaureate colleges for the number of students studying abroad, according to a 2018 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange.

“On behalf of the DePauw community, I want to thank Bob and Gwen for their generosity and meaningful investment, which of course comes in addition to their decades of leadership and service to the university,” McCoy said. “This gift is befitting of their DePauw legacy in enhancing international education for our students.”

Bottoms served DePauw for 32 years, including 22 years, 1986 to 2008, as the university’s 18th president. In addition to championing efforts to strengthen diversity, science education and moral and ethical reflection, he led two highly successful fundraising efforts.

The Sesquicentennial Campaign completed in 1987 raised $121 million and The Campaign for DePauw: Leadership for a New Century culminated in 2000 with gifts and commitments in excess of $376 million. Both campaign achievements constituted the largest total ever achieved by a liberal arts college at that time.

Bottoms earned a bachelor’s degree at Birmingham-Southern College, a bachelor of divinity at Emory University and doctorate at Vanderbilt University.

Gwen Bottoms earned a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and a master’s degree from Indiana University. She was a dedicated leader in the DePauw and Greencastle communities.

They returned to Greencastle last October for the dedication of the Robert G. Bottoms Alumni and Development Center on campus.