Contact: Maridith Geuder
A scholarship being established at Mississippi State University by a South Carolina couple will provide support for students with disabilities.
Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Rauch Sr. of Lexington are establishing the Prisock/Bailey Endowed Scholarship to honor several longtime family friends and the memory of their son who died of an aneurysm in 1996 while an MSU graduate student. They earlier endowed the Chip Rauch Memorial Scholarship in Poultry Science.
The Prisock/Bailey scholarship recognizes the support provided to Chip by Mr. and Mrs. Donald Prisock Sr. and Donald "Donnie" Prisock Jr., all of Starkville, and Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bailey of Columbia, S.C. Rauch had attention deficit disorder.
The Baileys were Chip's godparents, while the senior Mrs. Prisock is Bailey's sister.
"The scholarship being established by the Rauch family will benefit a student who is served by Mississippi State's Office of Student Support Services," said office director Debbie Baker.
The office provides services including classroom and testing accommodations for students with disabilities. Chip Rauch's assistance primarily involved testing accommodations.
Donnie Prisock, who has cerebral palsy, is the office's coordinator of special services for students with disabilities.
"Both Donnie and Chip are examples of what can be accomplished by people with disabilities," Baker said.
Rauch was a 1987 graduate of Columbia's Irmo High School. After earning a bachelor's degree in animal industries from Clemson University in 1991, he enrolled in MSU master's degree program in poultry science, where he worked as a graduate assistant in avian physiology. His master's degree was awarded posthumously in 1996.
Prisock received a bachelor's degree at Mississippi State in 1976 and a master's degree in counseling and student personnel in 1977. He completed a doctoral degree at the University of Mississippi in 1985 at age 32.
"Having a disability is expensive," Baker said. "In addition to tuition and fees, the scholarship may be applied to tutors, assistive technology or other resources to make the student more independent."
To be eligible, students must qualify for services under the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, be in good academic standing and demonstrate financial need. "Mississippi and South Carolina students will receive priority," Baker said.
The Prisock/Bailey Endowed Scholarship is an open fund in the Mississippi State University Foundation and may be increased through additional contributions.