“Dona and Milton Usry have been longtime friends and supporters of Pensacola State College,” said Pensacola State President Ed Meadows. “The PSC family thanks you for your generosity in endowing this scholarship that will help our students achieve their goals and dreams.”
The Dona and Milton Usry Endowed Accounting Scholarship is available to full- or part-time Pensacola State students majoring in the field of accounting with a 2.5 or higher grade point average. Recipients must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien. Scholarship funds can be used for tuition, fees, books, and other supplies. Preference will be given to students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field.
The Board of Trustees Board Room in Building 7 will also be renamed in honor of the Usry endowed scholarship.
Meadows noted that many Pensacola State students work full-time jobs, are sometimes the primary breadwinner in their families and often foundation scholarships are critical for these students to continue their education.
“The generosity of the Usrys in endowing this scholarship will assist current and future students who wish to have a career in accounting,” he added.
The Usrys are active community volunteers and have a legacy of supporting higher education.
“The scholarships provided through this endowment are a strong indication of our ongoing support of postsecondary education, particularly in accounting,” the Usrys said of the donation.
“We are using funds from our tax-deferred retirement account,” Milton Usry explained. “Along with helping college students, we also will receive a tax break for using funds from this account.”
Dona Usry has a long history of service to Pensacola State. From February 1999 to May 2014, she served on the Pensacola State College Board of Trustees. During her tenure, she was the board chairwoman for two terms – 2005-2006 and 2006-2007. Also, she is a member of the WSRE-TV Foundation Board of Directors.
An esteemed University of West Florida faculty member, Milton Usry was the institution’s first Eminent Scholar and named the Mary Ball Washington Professor Emeritus of Accounting. Before moving to Pensacola, Dr. Usry was Regents professor of accounting for 25 years at Oklahoma State University.
The Usrys’ son, Wayne, is a retired accountant, and their other son, Mark, is a business professor at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.