Judy Jones (’74, ’99): A love of communication inspires a new scholarship

For Judy Jones (’74, ’99), a love of school and learning grew to a love of communication thanks to her experience at WKU, and now she has found a way to give back through her estate plans.

Growing up in Leitchfield, Ky., Jones had always known about WKU, but a scholarship—and the convenient not-so-far distance from home and the fact several high school friends had also chosen WKU—ensured she became a Hilltopper. When she started at WKU, she was initially interested in becoming a doctor or a social worker, but she soon found her place with a double major in Sociology and Mass Communication. She later received a Master of Arts in Communication.

“Communication has always been so important to me,” Jones said. “In Sociology, you learn how people react as a group, and in Communication you learn how to convey an idea and how to link people together through that idea. I highly value Communication and its impact in our society.”

While at WKU, Jones was a work-study student in the Department of Sociology and wrote for the College Heights Herald and the Talisman. After several years at the Park City Daily News as a News Editor and Reporter, an interest in learning more about printing inspired her to apply at a new RR Donnelley & Sons plant in Gallatin, Tenn. She started as a Customer Service Representative but quickly moved into roles as a Supervisor then Manager, and she ultimately finished her career as the Vice President of Operations at the Gallatin plant.

“The value of education was always stressed to my sister and me when we were growing up, and I was the first in my family to go to college,” Jones said. “My parents were limited their entire lives because they were children of the Depression and needed to work to support their families rather than go to school. They couldn’t help me a lot financially, but they were proud that I went to Western for my bachelor’s and master’s degrees.”

A desire to give back and to share the type of support she received from her family, which she knows not every young person receives, inspired Jones to include a scholarship at WKU in her estate plans. The Judy Hayes Jones Scholarship will benefit students pursuing a degree in Communication who are from the areas where Jones grew up – Edmonson and Grayson counties in Kentucky – and Sumner County in Tennessee, where she lives now.

“I’m getting older and I’m starting to think about what happens when I am no longer here,” Jones said. “It is very important to me to encourage students to go to college, and I want to help them afford it and make it a little easier for them than it might otherwise be.

“Western is a great school, has a beautiful campus and so many academic offerings,” Jones said. “The University’s commitment to legacy giving is important. I can leave my IRA to Western and know that it is going to be invested and have a much larger impact. I have confidence that Western will spend the earnings from my IRA in the way I want the money spent.”

Posted by Leah Cummings
Nov. 17, 2022

WKU Philanthropy Recognition Program

By making a gift to WKU, donors share in the proud tradition that allows the University to achieve greater distinction and serve more people each year. We believe the greatest thanks we can show is through the responsible use of each gift and sharing how private support has made a difference at WKU. Therefore, we are happy to honor donors for their philanthropy through one, all or a combination of four recognition areas.
 
By publicly recognizing our donors, we believe others will be motivated to join their peers in giving back to the institution that has given them so much. If a donor wishes to remain anonymous, we will honor that request to the extent allowed by law.

Legacy – Including WKU in one’s estate plans – Society of 1906
Individuals who include WKU as part of their estate plans by adding a bequest to the University in their wills, participating in any of the various lifetime income plans available through WKU, designating the University as beneficiary of a trust, naming the University as beneficiary of retirement plan assets, or making the University the beneficiary of insurance policies for which ownership has been assigned to WKU are recognized for their thoughtful, forward-thinking planning. Legacy donors play an active role in the future of WKU by ensuring the programs that are important to them today are supported in perpetuity.