fall 2013 / 37
PHILANTHROPY
In life, Buford Bowen ’30 was a
generous donor to his alma mater,
setting up a scholarship in his family’s
name and helping build the SAE
house. In his death, Bowen has made
an enormous impact, contributing an
endowed trust of $2.2 million to the
college.
“Mr. Bowen was a wonderful man,
and he has made a wonderful gift
that will give
students who
might not
otherwise be
able to afford
it access to a
transformative
BSC
education,”
said BSC’s
president,
Gen. Charles
C. Krulak. “We
are so thankful
he chose to continue his legacy of
generosity to ‘Southern.”
Bowen graduated from the college
with a B.A. in business administration.
In 1939, he began working as a
stockbrocker with Fenner & Bean; he
left that job in 1943 to serve in the
U.S. Army during World War II. When
the war ended in 1945, Bowen was
discharged as a lieutenant commander
and began working at Merrill Lynch in
Jacksonville, Fla. He retired after 37
years of service.
Buford outlived two wives and his
only child, who died in a car accident
when he was 8. He died in 2004; his
third wife, Beckwith Lockwood Bowen,
died this year, which released his
estate’s planned gift to the college.
The Buford L. Bowen Family
Scholarship Fund will be held in
trust in perpetuity, and will generate
approximately $110,000 a year for the
college to distribute.
Late alumnus leaves $2.2 million endowment to
BSC
Bowen during his service in WWII
Bowen
BSC hires new director of corporate
and foundation relations
John Sweeney, an experienced development professional, is BSC’s new director of corporate
and foundation relations. He began his position in August.
In his new role, Sweeney is responsible for maintaining relationships with private foundations
and corporations that support the college. In addition, he submits detailed grant requests to
foundations.
He previously served as state director for the Arthritis Foundation’s Southeast region, and as
regional director for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Georgia and Alabama.
“As a strong believer and product of a liberal arts education, I believe in the greatness of BSC,”
said Sweeney, who moved to Birmingham in 2000 from Oxford, Miss. “There’s a wonderful
history to this college, and I am excited to be a part of the legacy of BSC going forward.”
A graduate of Millsaps College, Sweeney earned a Master of Divinity degree from Duke
University.
Sweeney
