TURLOCK – California State University, Stanislaus has received a major gift of $400,000 from the estate of Kenneth and Shirley Whalen in memory of their late daughter, Christie Sue Whalen-Sexton, that will be used to create an endowed chair in the College of Education.
Funding from the gift will help establish the Christie Sue Whalen-Sexton Endowed Chair in the CSU Stanislaus Department of Teacher Education. Endowed professorships represent a long-term private investment in the future of the University. This is the third endowed chair for CSU Stanislaus, with the first granted in 2002 in agricultural studies and another established in July as The Foster Farms Endowed Chair in Business Economics with an emphasis in econometrics.
“This very generous and most welcome gift from the Whalen Trust will support and enhance our teacher training programs as a long-term investment in the future of California State University, Stanislaus,” CSU Stanislaus President Dr. Hamid Shirvani said. “We are deeply appreciative to the Whalen family for their foresight and commitment to CSU Stanislaus.”
Christie Sue Whalen-Sexton, who died in 2002, received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from CSU Stanislaus in 1977 and her teaching credential in 1979. She taught language arts at Hilmar Middle School for 20 years.
The Whalens left funds from their estate to each of their alma maters, including CSU Stanislaus, their daughter’s alma mater, because they understood the significant impact that estate planning can have on an institution like CSU Stanislaus.
“Thanks to their generous and thoughtful estate planning, the Whalens have left a legacy that will benefit generations of future CSU Stanislaus students,” said Susana Gajic-Bruyea, Vice President for University Advancement.
