A major gift from Stuart Padnos, of Holland, will help students study overseas for a semester or full academic year. The gift is in honor of his late wife, Barbara. Barbara Padnos, a founding member of the Holland Area Arts Council, died in April of 1997. She and Stuart were married for 50 years.
This will help broaden people's thinking by letting them study out of the country, said Padnos, senior executive vice president of the Louis Padnos Iron and Metal Company of Holland. Louis Padnos, Stuart's father, founded the company in 1905 after immigrating from Russia. The idea of this scholarship is to encourage people who will likely stay in west Michigan to gain a global perspective.
The Barbara Padnos Scholarship for International Studies was announced at the annual meeting of the Grand Valley University Foundation on Wednesday, December 15.
This is a very generous gift in support of something that is integral to the mission of the university, said GVSU President Arend D. Lubbers. International experience is a major component of an education that prepares our graduates to be citizens of an increasingly global society.
In recognition of the gift, GVSU will rename its international affairs office the Barbara Padnos Office of International Affairs. The office has seen increased interest in study abroad opportunities. Nearly 400 students enrolled in study abroad programs in the current academic year, a jump of more than 100 students from previous years. The International Affairs Office currently offers summer programs in 16 countries and semester exchanges in 10 countries.
Stuart Padnos is also known in west Michigan for his scrap metal sculpture. He exhibited his work at the Frederik Meijer Gardens in 1998 and that same year gave GVSU 21 life-size metal sculptures depicting the university's marching band.
The Padnos family has been supportive of GVSU for four decades. The Seymour and Esther Padnos School of Engineering in Grand Rapids and the Padnos Hall of Science on the Allendale campus are named for Stuart's brother and sister-in-law.
Gift Funds GVSU/Grand Rapids Chamber Family-Owned Business Institute
Also at Wednesday's meeting, Robert L. Hooker and Peter Secchia will present a $301,000 gift to support the Family-Owned Business Institute, a joint venture of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce and GVSU.
The gift is the proceeds from a tribute to Amway Co-Founders Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel this past September. Thanks for the Renaissance, Jay and Rich, a benefit chaired by Hooker and Secchia, was organized to thank DeVos and Van Andel for their contributions to the community.
This is an important addition in this region, with so many successful family-owned businesses right here, said Richard M. DeVos, president of the GVU Foundation.
The Family-Owned Business Institute will conduct research and offer education on management and related issues in family-owned business. GVSU offered its first family business course this fall.
