Midland's Legacy Scholarship Program • Tribute

Built on a Legacy

Built on the legacy of George and Gladys Abell, Midland’s Abell-Hanger Foundation established the Abell-Hanger Scholarship in 1986 to help counter the pessimism about the slump in the area’s oil economy and to keep Midland’s youth committed to the community. Since then, Abell-Hanger Foundation trustees have continued to fund the scholarship. This scholarship program offers eligible Midland County high school graduates generous tuition scholarships at Midland College.

As tuition continued to increase, in 2003 the Abell-Hanger Foundation announced a partnership with the Helen Greathouse Charitable Trust to continue to fund these scholarships.

In 2006, a third Midland family foundation joined the tradition of supporting Midland College students in their education. The Chaparral Foundation — established by Midlander J. Harvey Herd and his late wife, Harriet — joined the Abell-Hanger Foundation and the Helen Greathouse Charitable Trust in funding “Midland’s Legacy Scholarship.”

In 2011, The Scharbauer Foundation, established by the Clarence Scharbauer family, also joined forces to contribute to the Legacy Scholarship.

Since 1986, the scholarship has supported the education of 8,500 students who have contributed 280,000 volunteer hours to more than 90 Permian Basin non-profit agencies in exchange for their Midland College scholarships.

In 1997, the Abell-Hanger Foundation also gave $35,000 to establish Students In Philanthropy (SIP), a Midland College club that provides leadership training for students in fund-raising and grantmaking. In 2008, with additional support of the Abell-Hanger Foundation, SIP awarded $20,800 in grants to twenty area non-profit agencies for an eleven-year total of $207,803.

Gifts to Midland College by Barney Greathouse, who died in 1973, and his wife, Helen, who died in 2001, have continued through the Helen Greathouse Charitable Trust — which Mrs. Greathouse established in 1997. To honor her contributions, the college’s Children’s Center was named the Helen L. Greathouse Children’s Center in 1996. In 2006, the Helen Greathouse Charitable Trust also joined in the support of the Students In Philanthropy Program.

The Herd family’s support extends a history of giving to Midland College, which began with a gift to fund original construction in 1974. Since then, the Herds have given to every MC fund-raising campaign. The Harriet and Harvey Herd Faculty Lounge at Midland College was named in the couple’s honor during the Chaparral Circle Endowment Fund (CCEF) campaign. Harvey Herd was a charter member of the Midland College Foundation Board — serving from 1974-1981. He also served as Foundation Board President. His son, Tevis Herd, is a current member of the Midland College Foundation Board.

The Scharbauer influence in Midland and West Texas dates to the late 1800s when the pioneer Scharbauer family settled in the vast "Midland Country" and became steeped in ranching, and later in petroleum and community-building. 

"The Scharbauer family, as everybody knows, has done so much for so many," noted former Midland College President Dr. David Daniel.   

Gladys and George Abell/Abell-Hanger Foundation, Barney and Helen Greathouse/Helen Greathouse Charitable Trust, Harvey and Harriet Herd/Chaparral Foundation and the Scharbauer Family/Scharbauer Foundation have a shared legacy of giving to Midland College. Numerous projects that have benefited from the generosity of the four families include: athletics; the Scharbauer Student Center; the Dorothy and Todd Aaron Medical Science Building; the Advanced Technology Center; the CCEF; Craddick Hall; Friends of the Series; the Fox Science Building; scholarships; Student Services; the Petroleum Professional Development Center; and the Williams Regional Technical Training Center in Fort Stockton.

Gladys Abell

George Abell

Helen Greathouse

Barney Greathouse

Harriet Herd

Harvey Herd

Clarence and Dorothy Scharbauer