Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 1, 1993 TAG: 9307010514
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LYNN A. COYLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
So Nova Painter, David Price and Lynn Stewart established a scholarship fund in Magruder's name. Their goal is to endow an annual $500 scholarship, which will require raising more than $5,000. The scholarship is expected to be awarded to a Roanoke Valley student beginning in the fall of 1994.
The committee has raised $1,775 so far. Because they wanted to surprise Magruder, their April solicitation letter was targeted mainly at their Norfolk Southern colleagues, but they plan to petition a wider group.
"If you didn't pass, it was because you didn't try, because he would just bend over backward to help you," Stewart said of Magruder.
Stewart and others said Magruder's sense of humor made dry subjects such as math, statistics and corporate finance more palatable. She cited his frequent references to "my first wife, Esther." Stewart later learned that Magruder was still married to Esther, his first and only wife.
When Price became an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Western, Magruder took him under his wing and helped him develop as a new teacher, Price said. "It was just amazing how many people have said `He's the best teacher I have ever had.' " It was Price's idea to establish the scholarship, "to memorialize what he's given to the school and the students."
Magruder, who learned of the scholarship at his retirement reception, said it's the most honored he's ever felt. "I also felt very humbled . . . very appreciative," he said.
Magruder, who served the last 15 years as head of the division's management and accounting programs, said he'll miss the thrill of teaching, his students and co-workers. He'll use his extra time to work around the house, take a few short trips and do more light reading - "fiction, mysteries, whodunit and who didn't done it."
Carroll Gentry, Magruder's boss, said although the professor was stern and tough, "I don't think I ever had a student in 25 years come in and complain about a grade."
Gentry said of the scholarship, "I thought it was wonderful, because it was a grass-roots effort. Many of the students who gave as well as those who are going to give saw how he changed their lives."
One of those contributors is former student Carla Spencer, who graduated from Virginia Western in 1986 and teaches part time in its business department and full time at the Roanoke Academy for Mathematics and Science. "If it wasn't for him I don't know if I would have the education I have today," she said.
Her family was very supportive but not academically oriented, Spencer said. Magruder pushed her to complete her four-year degree and helped her choose a program. She wanted a master's degree, "but I didn't know if I was smart enough," she said. Magruder convinced her she was.
"He has provided me with a role model every day that I try to base myself on," Spencer said. "Magruder taught from the heart," dispensing lessons with understanding and compassion. "His classes were always very difficult, but when you left, you knew it - very difficult but very fair."
If you haven't had a chance to take a class from Magruder, take heart. He's been invited back to teach a class this fall. "I'd love to come back and teach part time but not full time again," Magruder said.
Contributions to the scholarship may be made payable to Virginia Western Foundation/Business, E.G. Magruder Scholarship Fund, and mailed to Carroll Gentry, Virginia Western Community College, 3095 Colonial Ave. S.W., Roanoke 24038.
by CNB