Lucille Dunn McBride understood the value of farmland, stewardship, and education. Her legacy lives on through her gift of 76 acres in Mercer County to the University of Illinois Foundation to establish a scholarship program in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Leadership from the College of ACES and the University of Illinois Foundation celebrated the impact of McBride’s gift with a farm sign dedication ceremony on Aug. 8. Due to rain, the event took place at the farmstead of longtime tenant David Nelson, who purchased his first farm from McBride.
Through the gift of farmland, McBride established the “Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ISPFMRA), Wendell L. Farris, Raymond Kreig and Wanda Kreig Scholarship Fund” to support students living within a 150-mile radius of Galesburg.
The scholarship fund honors her farm managers, Farris (ACES ’38), and Raymond Kreig (ACES ’47), as well as her close friendship with the Kreig family whose children and grandchildren are alumni of the university and the College of ACES.
“The phenomenal legacy of Lucille was her belief in education,” said Janet Kreig (ACES ’77), the daughter of Raymond and Wanda Kreig, during the dedication. “Her very strong belief in education was echoed by my father, Raymond Kreig, who always felt there was nothing better than an advanced education and that he would not have been anywhere near the same person had he not had the privilege of going to the University of Illinois. It was a big dream for him.”
Raymond Kreig, who died in 2022, was an Accredited Farm Manager and a member of the ISPFMRA since 1948.
Source: illinois.edu
Photo Credit: gettyimages-prostock-studio
Categories: Illinois, Education