Dr. Rick Westphal

Dr. Rick Westphal has multiple reasons for his strong allegiance to Missouri State University.

First, he is an alumnus with two master's degrees from Missouri State: Communication (1972) and Administrative Studies (2005).

Second, he met his late wife, Sandra, an alumna, in Craig Hall.

Third, he is an MSU instructor who has taught courses on communication, related to both aging and leadership.

Last but not least, he comes from four generations of MSU graduates and is confident his grandchildren will go on to make it five.

When Sandra passed away in 2015, he wanted to create a legacy for her and the Westphal family, incorporating the school they love.

Westphal created the Sandra Westphal Memorial Scholarship and has also given to the Communication Department. The memorial scholarship in his late wife's name will be funded through a deferred gift of life insurance. It will support students involved with Tent Theatre, which Sandra participated in while a student and continued to attend throughout her life.

"If you are thinking in terms of, 'What am I going to do to help sustain the memory of a loved one and to honor them?,' I would encourage you to look at creating a legacy through a gift of life insurance. Particularly if there was something your loved one was passionate about, you can use this as a vehicle to support that cause on their behalf."

Even Westphal's youngest family members lent support to his gift. His grandson, Cy Griffith, held his 8th birthday in Missouri State's Level 1 Game Center in the Plaster Student Union. Instead of accepting presents, Cy asked his friends to donate to his grandmother's scholarship.

"That wasn't because of any prompting from any of the adults," Westphal said. "It was very meaningful to me."

Westphal said changing his life insurance policy beneficiary over to MSU was an easy process that just required signing a few forms.

"Giving this way is not financially burdensome. You don't have to be independently wealthy. It just is automatically taken care of upon my death. I wanted something that would be permanent and would be in place for perpetuity. With this gift, Sandra Westphal will be remembered."