Roderic C. and Margaret Joy Botts
Rod grew up in Madison, WI and Joy was raised in eastern Oregon. The two met while attending Carleton College in Northfield, MN. Joy later earned a Master’s in Library Science from UWM. After working as a children’s librarian in Gurnee, IL, and Pocatello, ID, she became the first director of the Pauline Haass Library, Sussex, WI, where she developed the collection, hired staff, and oversaw the construction of a new building. Joy passed away in Milwaukee in 2016. Rod earned a Ph. D. in English and Education at Northwestern University, and taught at universities in Illinois and Idaho, as well as Marquette University and Shorewood High School until his retirement. Rod is proud of the work he did to help generations of young people learn about literature. Rod and Joy had two children and enjoyed reading and travel in their later years.
Impact
Joy was motivated by her father’s wishes when she came up with the idea to make a scholarship available to minority students. With an inheritance from her father, she created the scholarship that he couldn’t create during his lifetime. Joy saw how hard it was for some students, particularly disadvantaged minority students, to attend college. She and Rod thought a scholarship would be the perfect way to help, so they created their scholarship fund.