UVM students from Monkton, Vermont will have the chance to benefit from a scholarship established by Kenneth Wheeling, a retired teacher and former director of the Shelburne Museum.

After receiving a degree from St. Bonaventure University and earning a M.Ed. from St. Michael's College, he became a high school teacher and also taught in UVM's historic preservation program in the 1960s. Kenneth has been the zoning administrator, town moderator and justice of the peace in his Monkton home for some 40 years. He is also one of the world's foremost authorities on horse-drawn vehicles, having amassed a library and archives on the subject and travelled the world lecturing and adding to his passion for them.

Endowment Honors Parents

Kenneth feels strongly about giving back. He has decided that on his death, his estate is to be liquidated and the proceeds used to establish a scholarship for UVM students from Monkton.

The generous gift was made in honor of his late parents, Kenneth John Wheeling and Loretta Marie Wheeling.

"I owe them. I owe them big time," Kenneth says of his mother and his father-a doctor who practiced obstetrics and gynecology at Saint Francis Hospital in Port Jervis, New York. "They saw that I got educated, and my brothers and sisters. And who remembers?" he asks wistfully.

The estimated value of this endowment is $1 million.

"I hope some deserving students from Monkton will benefit," he says. "My dad and mother would just be pleased that they could educate another kid. Maybe not just yet," he smiles knowingly, "but some day."

The Kenneth John Wheeling and Loretta Marie Wheeling Scholarship will give first preference to a student of the College of Medicine. If no such candidate exists from Monkton, it will be awarded to an undergraduate student from Monkton in any of UVM's schools or colleges. UVM President Tom Sullivan thanked Kenneth at a campaign planning meeting on campus this spring.

"We need more of the Kens among all of us," Sullivan said to the crowd of alumni and friends of the university. "Ken, thank you for this inspirational investment in our students."