Communication Scholarship honors Eugenia McAlpine Lewis

HARTSVILLE, SC – Oct. 22, 2015 – The family of a trailblazing advocate for Coker College has established the Eugenia McAlpine Lewis Endowed Scholarship in Communications.

Beth Stanzione, Lewis’ daughter, recalls her mother’s whole-hearted devotion to Coker College and her fierce determination to make a difference. She says her mother persevered and found success, in large part, she thinks, because she remained true to herself. It was a labor of love.

“She was a steel magnolia if ever there was one,” said Stanzione. “Mother was an authentic human being – animated and caring – and she wanted her alma mater to be as strong as it could be.”

“Mrs. Lewis’ story represents an iconic virtuous circle, the legacy of which contributes in no small part to the enviable position in which Coker College finds itself today,” said Coker College President Robert Wyatt.

“During a period when the decision to build a career and raise a family at the same time was doubtless difficult, Mrs. Lewis persisted with the strength and discipline of a true competitor, and by all accounts she succeeded in both endeavors. Not only did she inspire unprecedented alumnae engagement and support for her alma mater, but, in so doing, she was instrumental in providing the financial resources necessary to establish Coker College as an educational and cultural hub of the region, the community and her family.

“Her family’s decision, now, to honor Mrs. Lewis’ memory with an endowed scholarship to benefit future Coker College students, will seal, in perpetuity, the tradition of generous service that Mrs. Lewis personally established in her daily life through one authentic conversation after another, after another,” Wyatt added.

Lewis was a 1941 graduate of Coker College. She passed away in 2004. Her mother, Mary Lucia, was a 1916 graduate of Coker and her daughter, Lucia, who graduated in 1966, was the first third-generation graduate of the institution.

Eugenia Lewis joined the Coker staff as an assistant in the (then) Coker Alumnae Office in 1960. She was subsequently appointed executive secretary-treasurer and director of annual giving. During her tenure, Coker initiated the Hartsville City Campaign, which continues still. In 1981, Eugenia Lewis was recognized by the Coker Alumni Association with the Distinguished Service Award for “her foresight and determination in the establishment of the association … and for her creativity, imagination, resourcefulness and vision in the pursuit of excellence of her alma mater.”

Eugenia Lewis’ vision and resourcefulness led to the first publication of the Coker Alumni Magazine. In 1968, she received the Time-Life Award for significant magazine improvement in the American Alumni Council’s Southeastern District.

The Eugenia McAlpine Lewis Endowed Scholarship in Communications has been established by Beth Stanzione and her children, Dan, John and Gena. The family hopes that this scholarship will help others strive to understand the fundamentals of effective communication during their time at Coker College and continue to learn in a lifelong way.

For more information about academic programs at Coker College, visit www. coker.edu or call 800- 383-8000. For information about ways to support Coker College, call 843-383-8016.