Thouren Science Scholarship

Earl and Irene Thouren were staunch members of Hope Lutheran Church in San Mateo, California. Their family included their son Peter and daughter Susan. Professionally, Earl was a practical sort, an engineer who served with the U.S. Corps of Engineers.

As a good Lutheran, Earl thought he should probably do something to help support the struggling new Lutheran college down in Thousand Oaks. And so he designated his first gift to California Lutheran College as a scholarship for a student studying sanitary engineering. The fact that the college did not have a sanitary engineering major at the time did not seem to discourage Earl. Instead, he was encouraged to learn that he could afford the amount of funding required to establish an endowed scholarship. With his wife’s approval, he gave that amount in 1981 and his scholarship was endowed.

The Thourens had initially maintained a correspondence with CLU’s president and vice president for development. University Advancement staff continued the relationship with annual visits beginning in 1984. It was the start of a beautiful friendship. Earl was a man of few words, but people never doubted where he stood. Irene enjoyed having University visitors and was always prepared to offer her “friendship bread” in welcome.

Through the years, as their relationship with the University flourished, the Thourens’ gifts became increasingly regular. Earl broadened the criteria for the scholarship award to include other sciences—physics, chemistry and related scientific fields—with the hope that someday CLC would offer pre-engineering courses. When the agreement for the Thouren Science Scholarship was drawn up and signed by Earl in 1984, he indicated that the scholarship could also be awarded to a graduate student if and when pre-engineering courses were offered. Otherwise it would be designated for undergraduate science majors.

Earl was never shy about requesting detailed information on the status of the scholarship fund. University staff quickly learned that answering his questions was both the best course of action and the right thing to do. When Earl and Irene passed away in 1992 and 1993, respectively, the University learned just how kindly they felt toward CLU. As a result of their estate gift, CLU has been able to provide generous scholarships to as many as 16 science majors in a given year. Their friendship was an incredible blessing to both the campus and its students.