Two new scholarships for students in Illinois State University’s College of Business have been made possible through the Flessner Family Endowed Scholarship Fund. The fund was recently established by Paul Flessner, a retired senior vice president at Microsoft and a 1981 graduate of Illinois State’s business information systems program.
The Flessner Family Endowed Scholarship Fund supports the annual Donald J. Flessner Endowed Scholarship, awarded to a new freshman majoring in accountancy. The scholarship is named for Paul Flessner’s father, Donald, a businessman and long-time mayor of Roberts, Ill. The Fund also supports the annual Dr. Gerry McKean Endowed Scholarship, awarded to a junior or senior majoring in business information systems. The scholarship honors one of Paul Flessner’s former professors, Gerry McKean, a retired business information systems faculty member.
Paul Flessner, a member of Illinois State’s College of Business Hall of Fame, was instrumental in leading Microsoft’s efforts in the development of software for servers. He received Microsoft’s 2008 Technical Recognition Award for his leadership of the SQL Server 7.0 Team.
The $100,000 in funding for the scholarship endowment was contributed by Microsoft on behalf of Paul Flessner. The funding is part of the company’s philanthropic efforts to support education and communities across the globe.
The fund may be increased at any time through additional gifts. Anyone interested in giving to the Flessner Family Endowed Scholarship Fund can send a check made payable to the Illinois State University Foundation and indicate that it is for the Flessner Family Endowed Scholarship Fund. Mail to: Illinois State University Foundation, Campus Box 8000, Normal, IL 61790-8000. Gifts may also be donated online by printing an online form, or by contacting the Office of Development by calling (309) 438-8184.
