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K-State Today

May 14, 2014

Former history professor helps future students

Submitted by Marisa Larson

George Dent Wilcoxon was a student favorite at K-State, and the feeling was mutual. Wilcoxon, a professor of history for some 50 years, was heavily involved with student affairs on campus. He served as the faculty representative to the Student Senate for 23 years, and he also was a co-advisor to the Blue Key honor society for 10 years.

Wilcoxon's concern for students factored into his estate plans. He left his estate to K-State to establish two scholarships for undergraduates in history and a fellowship for history graduate students. Both scholarships are named in honor of his mother, Cora Stewart Wilcoxon. Wilcoxon wanted to help students passionate about history, said his friend and former colleague Al Hamscher. The fellowship for graduate students will be especially helpful.

"Graduate students tend to be underfunded, so he wanted to help make up the gap," Hamscher said.

Wilcoxon died in June 2012.

"When he died, a number of former students wrote to me to tell me he was one of the best professors they'd had," Hamscher said. "It's nice that so many students remembered him from 30, 40 years ago."

In addition to helping students, his passions included 18th-century England, ancient Greece and Rome, reading and Dodgers baseball.