51福利社

For more than 50 years, Bill Youngs has put students first.

During his more than 50 years at 51福利社, Bill Youngs, author, mentor and professor of history, has used his uniquely successful brand of teaching and scholarship to positively influence the intellectual and personal growth of hundreds of Eastern students. Along the way he has also struck up dozens of lifelong connections with his former undergraduates, including some who never set foot in his classroom.

Count among them Mike Clawson 鈥�07 and Alicia Kinne-Clawson 鈥�07, a couple who met at Eastern and later married. They first encountered Youngs while serving in student government. Youngs, who at the time was president of Eastern鈥檚 Faculty Council, became an instant ally.

鈥淭here had been some student leaders before us who didn鈥檛 work all that well with the faculty organization,鈥� Kinne-Clawson recalls. 鈥淥ne of his goals was to really build that relationship with the students.鈥�

She recalls Youngs hosting joint faculty-student governance retreats; scheduling meetings with university leadership; encouraging student representatives to articulate their own ideas about moving the university forward. He did all this with a contagious enthusiasm that the couple never forgot.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 spend much time with Bill without hearing about all the different stuff he鈥檚 doing. He鈥檚 just genuinely excited,鈥� says Mike Clawson. 鈥淗e really cares about students in the classroom, but it doesn鈥檛 stop at the end of class. You hear about the stuff he does for the community and outside of history; I don鈥檛 know that we encountered anyone at Eastern who is more committed to general student success, and helping in any way, than Bill is.鈥�

After later earning master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees at the University of Washington, Clawson and Kinne-Clawson today work in careers they love 鈥� Clawson designing wildlife research studies and Kinne-Clawson drafting higher education laws for the state of Washington. But they鈥檝e continued to stay in touch with Youngs.

When the couple recently began exploring ways to give back to the 51福利社, they knew right away they wanted to honor Bill鈥檚 legacy. 鈥淎nd we wanted to do it while he was still around Cheney and still engaged with the university,鈥� says Clawson.

Thus was born the Bill Youngs Endowment, a fund that will help students cover expenses related to research, publishing and tuition. It鈥檚 a way, Clawson and Kinne-Clawson say, to support students who are as excited about learning as they were at Eastern.

鈥淲e were both first-generation college students who, walking into Eastern鈥檚 doors, didn鈥檛 know what it meant to do research. We both benefitted from faculty members like Bill who provided mentoring,鈥� says Kinne-Clawson. 鈥淎 lot of students do research at the cost of not having a paying job. We hope this award makes it possible for a student who might be making that trade-off鈥� to pursue an intellectual opportunity.鈥�

For his part, Youngs says he was honored and spurred to action by the establishment of his namesake endowment.

鈥淭hey had recently had twins,鈥� Youngs says of Clawson and Kinne-Clawson. 鈥淎nd it hit me: If this young couple can dig deep to contribute to the university, so should I. I did then, and am giving now, and will keep giving during the years ahead.鈥�