Heroes present, past and future will be honored at Des Moines University’s 12th annual Glanton Minority Scholarship Fund Dinner on Oct. 8, 2015, at the Meadows Convention Center of Prairie Meadows in Altoona.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, J.D., served as president of DMU from 2003 to 2009 between stints as Iowa’s longest-serving governor. As president, he took the University from a local institution to one with statewide and regional visibility. DMU launched master’s degree programs in anatomy and biomedical sciences and a now-popular global health program, which gives students opportunities to learn and treat patients in underserved regions of the world.
For more than two decades, attorney Ed Skinner, J.D., served his clients, community and state with his legal expertise, civic leadership and economic development advocacy, a legacy that continues to benefit central Iowa. As chair of Citizens for Progress through Racing, he oversaw the construction of Prairie Meadows Racetrack. Skinner’s critical leadership in Prairie Meadows’ development helped lead to the more than $1.4 billion the nonprofit organization has distributed to advance health and human services, education, economic development and arts and culture. Mr. Skinner died on Jan. 12, 2015.
Thanks to these and many other individuals, many DMU students have earned and will earn medical and health sciences degrees as recipients of the Glanton Minority Scholarship. Gov. Branstad established the scholarship fund in 2004 to increase scholarship support for minority students under-represented in health care. Mr. Skinner became one of its first and most consistent supporters. Since then, the fund has provided nearly $1.35 million in scholarships, and its current endowment exceeds $2 million.
This year’s Glanton Dinner will honor the contributions of these two individuals as well as Willie Stevenson Glanton, J.D., and the late Judge Luther T. Glanton Jr., J.D., after whom the scholarship fund is named. The Glantons were civic leaders and longtime members of the DMU Board of Trustees. He was the first black judge in Iowa; she was the first black female assistant county attorney and the first black person from Polk County to serve in the Iowa Legislature.
Individuals and organizations may attend and sponsor the Glanton Dinner, which includes a reception at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. All proceeds support the Glanton Minority Scholarship Fund. For more information, visit the fund website or call the DMU alumni relations office at 515-271-1463.
