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Del and Mary Laudner

North Iowa Area Community College has received a $50,000 gift from Del and Mary Laudner.

The gift will be used to establish the Del and Mary Laudner Agriculture Scholarship, an endowed scholarship fund. 

“Through this gift the Laudners have provided NIACC and its students with financial support for education and so much more,” Dr. Debra Derr, NIACC president, said.  “It is a vote of confidence from Del and Mary Laudner in NIACC’s commitment to North Iowa.  Their kindness will significantly impact the lives of our agriculture students. We are very fortunate to have such great friends of the College.”

Del and Mary Laudner have already created two scholarships for NIACC students, the Maude Wilson Theatre Arts Scholarship and the Melvin “Bud” Wilson Scholarship.

“We want to encourage and assist young potential farmers or those interested in some other aspect of the farming business to get the education needed to help them succeed. We believe NIACC is the best place to achieve these goals,” Del and Mary Laudner said.  “We hope it (the scholarship) will be useful in furthering the College’s Ag programs by assisting promising students to reach their goals.”

The Laudners are native Iowans who moved to the San Diego, California, area and have lived there for many years.  Both Del and Mary spent their early years on farms in Floyd County.  After getting married, they moved to California where they both graduated from San Diego State and had careers in civil engineering and education.  Del and Mary retained their deep connection to Iowa and their interest in all things agricultural.  They later donated 70 acres of farmland in the Rockford area to the Fossil and Prairie Center Foundation.  They also donated 8 acres of land in Rockford to the Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock School District for use by the FFA students.

“This gift from the Laudners is a great step in our effort to increase the scholarship dollars available to NIACC students,” Jamie T. Zanios, NIACC Foundation director, said.  “We continue to watch the cost of education rise, and the need for financial help to students is more critical than ever.  The Laudners’ gift sets an example to others on how they might support our youth.”

As the cost of higher education continues to increase, so does the need for student financial assistance in the forms of loans, grants and scholarships.  Scholarship donations help students keep their borrowing to a minimum.  While the College experiences great support from groups and individuals each year, the need remains for private support of the NIACC Foundation.

For more information on how to help the College acknowledge students needing financial assistance, please contact the NIACC Foundation at 641-422-4386 or visit www.niacc.edu/foundation.

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