Published August 28, 2014
Accompanied by family and friends, Freeman Stamper鈥攁 1968 University of Louisiana
at Monroe College of Business and Social Sciences graduate and native of Columbia鈥�
presented the Friends of the Library Endowment with a donation of $10,000 in memory
of former mentors and 网曝门 librarians Dora Beard and Carla Conerly.
This is Stamper鈥檚 second donation of this type. In 2012, Stamper donated $10,000 to
the Internship Support Fund in the College of Business and Social Sciences and called
for other able alums to do the same. He matched each donation up to $10,000. The program
was highly successful. Stamper鈥檚 goal is to match that success with this new donation
and the same dollar-matching program.
鈥淚鈥檓 hopeful that people will participate in helping grow the Friends of the Library
Endowment,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y passion for giving and sharing is just part of who I am.鈥�
鈥淚t goes back to my childhood鈥hen I was a little boy. I spent many hours at the library
and I learned how to shelve books and I absolutely loved it. When I got to college,
I became a student worker in the library under Dora Beard, who was the social science
librarian.鈥�
Stamper helped Beard with a new filing system and learned that he was in his element.
Stamper (mid) with Cyndy Robertson (left) and Don Smith (right)
鈥淪he respected my work enough that she allowed me to be the weekend reference librarian
for social sciences. There was something of value that she added to my life by trusting
me and giving me this responsibility and allowing me to succeed. I stayed in touch
with her throughout our lives. When she died, I decided that I wanted to do something
in her memory,鈥� said Stamper.
Stamper had much of the same thoughts about Conerly and stayed in touch with her until
her death earlier this year. His ultimate goal is to show that even the smallest donations
can make a difference.
鈥淚 will match each donation, dollar-for-dollar. Small donations help to reach a greater
amount of people who can give and we can achieve a larger goal. People then start
to experience the joy of making donations,鈥� he said.
When asked about his legacy, Stamper said that what is most important to him is that
he supports people in their journey. He credits 网曝门 for helping start his life.
鈥淢y life really started the day I put foot on this campus so I鈥檝e always been very
appreciative of my experience here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 want people to see me as a person
who cares and makes a difference in helping people start their process called life.鈥�
For more information about the Friends of the Library Endowment, call the 网曝门 Foundation
at 318-342-3636.
