$250,000 gift to fund football scholarship

By SUZANNE CHAMBERLAIN
Reporter Contributor

A loyal friend of UB is making a major gift to the Division of Athletics for an endowed football scholarship.

The $250,000 donation from Kathleen M. Shepard is being given in memory of her late husband, Richard, a loyal UB alumnus, who, she noted, believed that "a high-profile athletics program, particularly a successful football team, brings prestige and plays an important role in the offerings of great universities."

Shepard said she simply is completing the plan started together with her husband, who died before they could make the scholarship donation that would share their good fortune with deserving student-athletes.

Grateful for the gift and the Shepards' long-time support, Bob Arkeilpane, director of athletics, remembered Richard Shepard as "a generous individual who embodied the spirit of our loyal fans.

"Both Richard and Kathleen long recognized the importance of combining academics and athletics and the role that such endeavors play within the university community and Western New York," noted Arkeilpane, "and we value their leadership in helping us build our football program."

Richard C. Shepard, who died in February 1999, earned his bachelor's degree from UB in 1948. His professional career included 25 years at WKBW-TV/Capital Cities, from which he retired in 1988 as general sales manager of Channel 7/Buffalo and vice president of the broadcast division of Cap Cities.

Kathleen Shepard, who also attended UB, said her husband never lost his love for football, nourished by his high-school coach, the late Dick Offenhamer, who later became a well-respected coach at UB. An avid Buffalo Bills fan, Shepard worked with the Bills' management to schedule annual pre-season games for telecast on WKBW-TV, Channel 7.

In addition to donating annually to UB's Blue and White Club-which supports student athletes-Shepard served as president of the General Alumni Board of the UB Alumni Association from 1965-66 and as president of the UB Bulls booster club.