Wells Memorial Fund benefits criminal justice

Last December, the GC&SU Department of Government & Sociology established the Terry Wells Memorial Fund to benefit students in the criminal justice program.

The memorial fund is in honor of Terry Wells, a former associate professor, who passed away on Oct. 23.

Eugene Bouley, an associate professor in the Department of Government & Sociology, met Wells in 1992 while they were both graduate students at Sam Houston State University. Wells came to GC&SU in 1998.

“Dr. Terry Wells was one of the early professors in the current criminal justice program, and he had a repoire with students that was overwhelming,” Bouley said. “He was an outstanding man, an outstanding educator and he was my best friend.”

Jeffrey Blick, an associate professor in the Department of Government & Sociology, said Wells’ influence on committees at GC&SU will also be missed.

“I think in many academic circumstances you probably have too many ‘yes men’ or ‘yes people,’ and he was certainly not one of those,” Blick said. “When he thought something was wrong or he thought something was bad, he said so. We need to have more people like that.”

Blick said many people remember Wells as a laid-back, low-key person, but he was a serious scholar whose academic research was well published.

“He analyzed the criminal justice system and was well published,” Blick said. “His research was significant and his impact on people, both students and faculty, was significant.”

Bouley and Wells worked together on a grant proposal to the Department of Justice that established Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that helps undergraduate and graduate students understand what really goes on in the world of criminal justice.

“(Wells) was a driving force behind the grant proposal,” Bouley said. “He brought in over $200,000 to the university with this grant, which also allowed us to bring our research into the classrooms and make the classroom much more interesting.”

The memorial fund was established in accordance with the wishes of Wells’ wife, Sheryl, and faculty members.

“He was so young when he passed away, just 49 years old, that with a fund like this he can continue to influence the lives of students for many years to come,” Blick said.

Michael Digby, who chairs the Department of Government & Sociology, said the fund is still in an early stage and the criteria for students to be awarded money and the amount of money they will receive has not been established.

“Scholarships require thousands of dollars,” Digby said. “The money is placed in a savings account and the interest generated from the money is used to establish the scholarship.”

Bouley said he knows faculty and staff members that have donated money and encourages students who knew Wells to give to the memorial fund.

“We’re not asking for tons of money. Small contributions are welcome because many small contributions add up to a lot of money,” Bouley said. “You can’t make better use of your money.”

Anyone wishing to donate should make checks payable to the GC&SU Foundation with a note indicating that the money should be applied toward the Terry Wells Memorial Fund. Additional information can be attained through the Alumni Association (478) 445-6400.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 3 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry