News and Progress

MU College of Education receives gift to honor three sisters, alumni

Jan. 24, 2005

In the Acuff and Rhodes households, education, like business, is a family affair.

Sisters-in-law Suzanne Acuff Rhodes, BS Ed '55; Gail Van Reen Acuff, BS Ed '55; and Dee Danford Acuff, BS Ed '60 are all graduates of the MU College of Education. Their husbands — Erwin “Dusty” Rhodes, a graduate of Rocky Mountain College in Montana; Phil Acuff, BS BA '53; and John Acuff, BS BA'61 — own and operate the Acuff & Rhodes Group, a home-building and land-development company in Leawood, Kan.

The family decided to make a gift to the College of Education in Suzanne, Gail and Dee's names. That gift, with matching funds from the University of Missouri System, supports a scholarship fund and honors the three women, who value education highly.

“We think the University of Missouri is a wonderful university, and we want to make sure it continues in that fashion,” Gail says.

Dee believes the College of Education needs extra support when it comes to raising funds. “A lot of times, the graduates tend to be of more modest means because teaching isn't necessarily a lucrative profession,” she says. “It would be very unfortunate to want to teach, to enjoy teaching, and not to have the resources to pursue that profession.”

The Acuff-Rhodes gift will make those resources available to students in the College of Education.

Suzanne thinks of the teachers who have made a difference in her grandchildren's lives and hopes that the scholarship will help bring more people like them to the field.

“I think a creative person, someone who is really interested in children, is a better teacher,” she says.

Dee agrees: “I hope that this scholarship might encourage very well-qualified, motivated people to consider teaching.”