Kocher Family Endowed Scholarship

Elizabeth “Betsy” Kocher passed away in 2004 after a courageous battle with cancer. She left behind not only a loving family but also a trail of CLU students and alumni who were indebted to her for the attention she gave them and the financial assistance she arranged for them during their time at CLU.

Betsy was practically a fixture on the CLU campus. Her 30-year employment began as a part-time secretary in health services in 1974. In 1981 she transferred to the financial aid office where she served as secretary, assistant director, associate director and acting director before being appointed director in 1990. She served capably as director for 10 years.

When she received a diagnosis of cancer, Betsy lessened her responsibilities. But her staunch work ethic and personal grit kept her working until just a few weeks before her death. She kept on in spite of the treatments that sapped her energy. After her death she was memorialized at a service in the Samuelson Chapel that paid tribute to the many ways she had served the University and touched so many lives. Memorial gifts poured in for the scholarship fund that was established to honor her.

Less than six weeks after Betsy’s death her husband of 46 years suffered a stroke that soon took his life. The purpose of the scholarship then became one of honoring the entire Kocher family. Two of the three Kocher children were alumni—Jim ’86 and Susan ’89. It was the decision of the entire Kocher family, including Betsy’s mother Harriet Sands, that the scholarship should reflect the area of service to which Betsy devoted most of her professional life—financial aid.

The single criterion for the awarding of the Kocher Family Endowed Scholarship is that the recipient should be a student with financial need, a criterion that is easily met.