February 22, 2011

Davidson, NC -- The men's basketball program at Davidson is getting stronger -- thanks to the help of a San Antonio woman.

Jane Cheever Powell recently committed $1 million to Davidson College to establish the Thomas L. Powell, Jr., Class of 1947, and Jane Cheever Powell Men's Basketball Scholarship, which supports a talented scholar athlete on the men's basketball team. This scholarship, which is the first to be named for a former Davidson player, recognizes Tom Powell's years as a varsity Wildcat and Jane Cheever Powell's exemplary support of Davidson and its outstanding men's basketball program.

Tom Droney, a freshman guard from Pittsburgh, is the inaugural recipient of the scholarship.

Bob McKillop, head men's basketball coach at Davidson, said, "As Jane Cheever Powell has pursued her vision to honor her husband's career as a Davidson athlete and scholar, she has strengthened our basketball program in an enduring, meaningful way, and provided an example to all Davidson athletes who seek a way to give back. I am so very grateful to Jane and Tom for such a significant and generous gift."

About Tom and Jane Cheever Powell

Tom Powell entered Davidson in the fall of 1941. He played freshman basketball and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, the Eumenean Literary Society, the Spanish Club and Eta Sigma Phi, the national honorary society for students of Latin and Greek. A member of The Davidsonian student newspaper staff, he also served on the YMCA cabinet.

In 1943, Powell entered the Army Air Corps. A second lieutenant, he was discharged in 1945. After returning to Davidson in 1946, he earned election to Phi Beta Kappa and delivered the Salutatory speech at the Senior Class Exercises. He graduated with a degree in business administration.

Five years after graduating, he formed the Powell & Company insurance agency in San Antonio, Tex. In 1979, Powell & Company was acquired by Marsh & McClennan, and Powell became vice president of the company and in charge of the San Antonio office.

Jane Cheever Powell attended Vassar and the University of Texas. Active in her community, she serves on the board of directors of the Santa Rosa Children's Hospital Foundation and is a member of the advisory council for the College of Liberal and Fine Arts and the University of Texas San Antonio.

About Davidson College
Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,900 students located 20 minutes north of Charlotte in Davidson, N.C. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Through The Davidson Trust, the college became the first liberal arts institution in the nation to replace loans with grants in all financial aid packages, giving all students the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Davidson competes in NCAA athletics at the Division I level, and a longstanding Honor Code is central to student life at the college.

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