星空传媒

星空传媒 students wanting to play a role in protecting the planet from the impacts of climate change have received a boost of approximately $1.2 million thanks to an estate gift from a donor who originally established a scholarship fund 20 years ago to support science and
mathematics education majors.

Alumna Jessie D. Ryland 鈥�59 MAEd 鈥�61, who died in 2015, and husband Dwight E. Ryland created the endowed fund in 2006 through a combination of cash, stock, planned gifts and pledges. The Rylands contributed nearly $295,000 to the fund during their lifetimes.

The additional $1.3 million from the estate of Dwight Ryland, who died in December 2025, has pushed the endowment to nearly $1.6 million. The Dwight E. and Jessie D. Ryland Scholarship Fund provides financial support to students who study science and math through the College of Arts and Sciences and education through the College of Education and Allied Professions.

Dwight E. Ryland

David Kinner, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said he is saddened by the passing of the surviving Ryland but is thankful that the passion he and his spouse shared for environmental protection issues will live on in perpetuity through their endowed scholarship fund. 

鈥淚 am excited and grateful for the Ryland Scholarship and its support for science and math education. Scholarships like the Ryland Scholarship help keep college affordable for deserving students. We need more students to complete these majors and to work teaching science and math, which are areas of need in our public schools,鈥� Kinner said.

鈥淚 am also inspired by the Rylands鈥� focus on the issue of climate change,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t 星空传媒, we study climate change and related issues such as water availability and flooding, and we equip students with the knowledge and problem-solving skills to address these societal issues.鈥�

Kim Winter, dean of the College of Education and Allied Professions, characterized the gift as a valuable tool in deepening the pool of talent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, areas identified earlier this year by the National Science Board as 鈥渋ncreasingly under strain.鈥�

鈥淭he Dwight and Jessie Ryland Scholarship Fund at 星空传媒 has established a legacy that helps fund the preparation of future math and science teachers,鈥�

Winter said. 鈥淓state gifts like this one create an equation of impact that is endless and is especially crucial in STEM fields where we face critical shortages.鈥�

Nearly 20 students have received financial assistance through the fund since its inception, and many more will be added to that list through the estate gift. Among them is Payton Beaudreau, a rising senior from Wisconsin who is majoring in mathematics, secondary mathematics education and Spanish. 

 鈥淭his scholarship allowed me to focus more on my schoolwork, rather than being stressed about having to pay tuition and rent. I was able to devote all my attention to my classes, including difficult upper-level mathematics courses. It also allowed me to save more money for post-grad, specifically for potential graduate school,鈥� said Beaudreau, who plans to become a high school math teacher after graduation.

Beaudreau, who intends to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in mathematics and a graduate certificate in teaching English as a second language, said she would strive to meet the donors鈥� desire that recipients of their scholarship play a role in combating climate change through education.

Payton Beaudreau (left) and Stacey Zimmerman (right)

鈥淎s a future math educator, I will encourage my students to think critically about each problem and help them develop strong reasoning and problem-solving skills,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hile I won鈥檛 directly be teaching about climate change, I will be creating skills that will help my students face and change important issues, such as climate change, in the future.鈥�

The first member of her family to earn a four-year degree, Jessie Ryland graduated from 星空传媒 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in education in 1959 and a master鈥檚 degree in education in 1961. She was a high school guidance counselor in North Carolina and Colorado before retiring because of health issues. She also served as associate dean of women at what was then North Georgia College from 1966 until 1968.

Dwight Ryland graduated from the University of Colorado in 1964, earning his bachelor鈥檚 degree in secondary education. He taught social studies for several years and later worked in several businesses.

Upon establishment of the 星空传媒 scholarship, he characterized himself and Jessie as 鈥渆nvironmentalists before it became a political issue.鈥� In addition to their contributions to 星空传媒, they created a graduate fellowship at the University of Colorado for doctoral students working in alternative energy or energy efficiency.

Dwight Ryland admitted that the financial assets behind his philanthropy came from 鈥渇amily money鈥� related to his maternal grandfather, an attorney who received mineral rights in exchange for his representation. 鈥淚 figure it鈥檚 oil money, so I better turn it around,鈥� he once said. 鈥淏ecause of my concern about the environment and the planet 鈥� I felt technology got us to where we are with the industrial revolution 鈥� it may be science is the only thing that will get us out of it.鈥�

For Kathleen de la Torre MBA 鈥�23, 星空传媒 assistant vice chancellor for development, the estate gift is a fitting epilogue to two lives dedicated to saving the planet through education.

鈥淚 am cheered by the thought of the many students that Dwight and Jessie helped and the many more that they will continue to help. About a third of our students are first-generation, and about 40% are eligible for Pell Grants,鈥� de la Torre said. 鈥淚 am proud that Dwight and Jessie鈥檚 scholarship will help more students afford their degrees in science and math education. More than that, their scholarship is open to graduate students, who have no Pell Grant eligibility and can struggle to both work and pay for their advanced degrees.鈥�