JACKSON, Tenn. — March 16, 2021 — Bobby and Shirley Cogdell of Lexington, Tennessee, donated $50,000 to create a scholarship fund for students in Union University’s EDGE program.

The Cogdells’ granddaughter, Olivia Gaston, presented the check for the scholarship fund to Union President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver March 15.

The Union EDGE program provides a holistic, post-secondary education for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, encouraging increased independent skills that lead to a better quality of life and aligning with Union’s mission of providing Christ-centered education. EDGE is an acronym for employment training, daily living skills, godly focus and educational enrichment.

“It is our desire to help children, such as our very special granddaughter, Olivia Gaston,” Bobby Cogdell said. “This will assist these students to continue their education at one of our nation’s finest Christian universities.”

The new fund is called “The Lee, Chris and Becky Cogdell Honorary Scholarship Fund for Down Syndrome and Intelligent Disability Students.” Cogdell said he established the fund in appreciation of the Christian lives of his three children and in consideration of their mother, Fay Cogdell, who was a graduate of Union and a longtime special education teacher. Scholarships will be awarded each year to students enrolled in the EDGE program, and priority will be given to students with Down syndrome.

Kevin Riffle, a student at South Gibson County High School in Medina, has been accepted to the seventh cohort of Union’s EDGE program this fall. Riffle will be one of the first recipients of this scholarship.

“School is important to me in this part of my life,” Riffle said. He is very excited about the scholarship, he added, and is looking forward to making new memories at Union.

The EDGE program exists due to the support of the university and people like Cogdell who have a heart for individuals with disabilities, said Jennifer Graves, director of the Union EDGE Program.

“The $50,000 scholarship fund that the Cogdell family is establishing for individuals with Down syndrome, intellectual disabilities and other developmental disabilities will assist in helping students gain employment skills, daily living skills, a godly worldview and educational enrichment,” Graves said. “We are blessed by this wonderful family’s generosity and a desire to help students go to college.”