Bill Lane Center receives $500,000 Endowment Gift from George and Mary Lou Shott

March 2008

George B. and Mary Lou Shott have made an endowment gift of $500,000 to the Bill Lane Center for the Study of the North American West at Stanford University. The gift has been matched with $500,000 from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

George (Stanford B.A. Economics ’52, MBA ’57) and Mary Lou Shott have a history of generosity to the Bill Lane Center and the University. Their previous gifts to the Bill Lane Center were directed to supporting the Center’s postdoctoral fellowships. This most recent gift from the Shotts to the Bill Lane Center was in recognition of George’s 55th undergraduate reunion.

David M. Kennedy, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History and Co-Director of the Bill Lane Center for the Study of the North American West, expressed gratitude on behalf of the Bill Lane Center and noted the Shotts’ deep connection to life in the western United States: "We appreciate not only George and Mary Lou's generosity, but even more, we value their vote of confidence in the Bill Lane Center and its mission. As native Westerners, they are especially sensitive to the importance of understanding this region, and to Stanford's obligation to be a leading regional citizen.” George was born in northwest Nebraska and raised in Birmingham, Iowa. Mary Lou Shott was born and raised in North Dakota, where her family still owns and operates a farm.

The gift is unrestricted, but will be used for the foreseeable future to endow the George and Mary Lou Shott Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Study of the North American West. The Fellowship will support research and teaching by a recent PhD in the social sciences or humanities whose research concerns the western United States, western Canada, or Mexico.

Top of page