J. Ralph Reed Business Scholarship

Scholarship Eligibility:
Be a full-time freshman or sophomore at WCU
Declared business, accounting, or economics major
Have and maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher
Have both academic promise and financial need
Preference will be given to those actively involved in the School of Business and campus

The J. Ralph Reed Business Scholarship has been established by Steven Borick (75) to provide scholarship assistance in perpetuity for Western Colorado University students through the Department of Business, Accounting and Economics. This scholarship will serve students in honor of J. Ralph Reed. Reed, Emeritus Professor of Business, was a professor of great character who set high standards of academic and moral excellence and was a true leader and mentor to his students.

Ralph was raised on the Texas-Oklahoma border along the Red River at Hugo, Oklahoma, near Paris, Texas. This was the same general area where J.W. Campbell (former staff member of Western Colorado University) was raised. Ralph and J.W. shared a special camaraderie, experiencing childhood in that area during the depression days ‚“cotton fields, and all "‚ hard times.

In 1965, Ralph and his wife, Marjorie, were invited to visit the WCU campus. When they were driven to dinner in Crested Butte, the snow was up to the second story of the old buildings and they tunneled from the street into the stores. It reminded them of a popular comic strip “Lil Abner” where people in a community walked around with just their heads sticking out of the snow!

After that initial visit, Ralph did accept a position at Western as a faculty member in the Business Department. Ralph’sother gifted area was singing. He had such a popular reception with the vocal leaders in the Gunnison Community that he was instrumental in forming the Gunnison Community Choir. Ralph spent a lot of time in the community as a volunteer soloist in Gunnison and Lake City performing for many special occasions. Many in the town thought Ralph was a member of the music faculty.

Steven Borick established this scholarship to honor one of the very great people in his life. Steven became Dr. Reed’s surrogate son, and Dr. Reed became Steven’s mentor. Steven would like the recipients of this scholarship to remember to always keep your moral and ethical fortitude as the highest priority. Ralph used to always tell Steven that “there was a right way and a wrong way to do anything in life.” According to Steven, Ralph only knew the right way.