By Darla Martin Tucker
A $400,000 gift from a late physician’s estate will help more La Sierra University students achieve their goals in nursing and medicine.

A representative of the estate of the late James A. Crane gave a check to the university in February for the James A. and Delpha Marchus Crane Endowed Scholarship. The fund, established in 1999, provides tuition assistance for students enrolled in pre-nursing and pre-medicine programs. James Crane passed away May 29, 2007. He graduated from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 1935.

The February gift pushes the Crane scholarship fund past $500,000. The donation may potentially result in “four times as much for scholarship money provided the stock market does as well this year as last,” said Carol Bradfield, university awards committee chair and associate vice president for university advancement. Any additional scholarships would be awarded in 2009-2010, once the new donation has been invested for a year, she said.
Since 2002, the university has granted two Crane scholarships annually to students with financial need and who post strong grade point averages. Last year’s recipients each received $2,700 for tuition. Scholarship committee leaders also consider students’ extracurricular activities and faculty references when deciding between equally qualified candidates.
James Crane created the scholarship in memory of his wife, a La Sierra alumnus, who passed away in 1997. Delpha Marchus Crane graduated from La Sierra University in 1928, six years after its official opening and while it operated as Southern California Junior College. She graduated from the Loma Linda University School of Nursing in 1932.

In honor of her mother, Delpha Marchus Crane established the Marie Barber Marchus Scholarship at La Sierra to aid students enrolled in English department programs. Marie Barber Marchus taught elementary students and 9th and 10th grades in a one-room schoolhouse in San Pasqual Valley. She is best remembered for her study of the English language through literature, grammar and penmanship classes.

PR Contact: Larry Becker
Executive Director of University Relations
La Sierra University
Riverside, California
951.785.2460 (voice)