Celebrating 40 years of the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant

Cay Leytham-Powell — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 22:53:53 +0000

Celebrating 40 years of the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant Cay Leytham-Powell Wed, 12/03/2025 - 15:53

This annual research grant, named after the former development officer for the Graduate School, celebrates her legacy of philanthropy while also supporting the financial needs of graduate students

For the last forty years, the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant, administered as part of the Graduate Student Research Grants, has provided graduate students at the University of Colorado Boulder the chance to pursue their passions.

Whether that’s studying wage inequality, human-elephant conflict, or creating a statue commemorating Los Seis de Boulder, this competitive grant has distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars in small grants to qualifying graduate students across campus. These students have then gone on to become professors, artists and innovators in their respective fields.

The Los Seis de Boulder sculpture, seen here, was one of the projects funded in part by the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant.

Which, Beverly Sears remarked in a 2008 oral interview by the Boulder Library, was one of the reasons for starting the funding opportunity in the first place.

At the time, Bruce Ekstrand, the then-vice-chancellor for academic affairs, wanted to transform the university into a research campus. Sears, the inaugural development officer for the Graduate School, was on board with the mission, but felt there was one component that needed to be part of the conversation—graduate students.

And to get those students on board, they needed to be better supported financially.

To do that, Sears worked with Ekstrand to endow a fund called the Dean’s Grants Program. The goal of that program, which was named after Sears at her retirement to honor her dedication and service to graduate students, was to use private donations to support student projects that they otherwise could not afford, regardless of discipline. 

Over time, the move has made a real difference in the lives of hundreds of students.

“The Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant has been invaluable in assisting me to reach my recruitment goals for my dissertation study … It's because of the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant I have been able to do this work,” said Stevi Ibonie, a psychology PhD student who received the award in 2025.

None of that would have been possible, though, without Sears’ experience serving Boulder and Colorado before she came to the CU Foundation.

Born in 1932 in Baltimore, Maryland, Sears originally came to Colorado to visit a friend but quickly fell in love with the state. In 1961, she and her late husband, Wes Sears, made the decision to move across the country with their two young boys. 

They arrived at a time of change and transition, as Boulder was just beginning to move from a community surrounded by farms—with a population approximately a third of its 2020 size and a feel closer to a mountain town.

Within the decade, Sears, working within the counterculture spirit of the time at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, got involved with causes like the People’s Clinic—a medical clinic that has since closed that served the city’s working poor. She also helped raise money to fund the construction of a new church.

“It was quite an interesting period to be involved,” Sears remarked. “It was a time of real idealism. I mean we just thought the whole world could be better. … Anything had seemed possible.”

It's because of the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant I have been able to do this work.

In 1979, Sears was elected to Boulder City Council, where she served until 1987. It was a position that Sears said was her “biggest commitment.”

“I come from a family that’s always been involved in the community and elected offices, and I felt that sense of responsibility to serve the community,” Sears said in an interview with the Boulder Chamber in 2009 when recognized with the "Women Who Light the Community" lifetime achievement award.

Sears also briefly considered running for state legislature but decided, at that time, “state government was just too frustrating.”

Instead, Sears ended up leaving her job at the church to work on Tim Wirth’s first campaign for Congress as a staff member. He served as a Democrat in both the U.S. House of Representatives (1975–87) and the U.S. Senate (1987–93).

A smiling Bev Sears during the Graduate School's recognition ceremony in 2015.

“I really loved and learned so much in all of those experiences—City Council, running campaigns, and learning how to bring people together to look at issues and develop consensus and establish priorities,” Sears said. “They were just wonderful experiences. And the same thing with working with the church. You just learn so much about people and sort of their common desires and abilities and how you bring things together to make it happen. Really good.”

Sears was hired by the University of Colorado Foundation in 1984 at the bequest of Ekstrand and stayed there until her retirement in 1997, helping to initially form the Graduate School Advisory Council and to fund countless graduate students and graduate student opportunities, transforming graduate education at CU Boulder in the process.

At the time of her retirement, Sears had increased annual graduate school giving from $59,000 in 1984 to more than $3.5 million in 1997. The small grant awards also increased by a factor of 10, from $6,000 to $60,000 in annual gifts.

And those students that were ultimately supported are appreciative.

“The Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant provided critical funding for my work that allowed me to pursue additional experiments that are now contributing to a manuscript,” said Kylie Boenisch-Oakes, a PhD student in environmental engineering and a member of the Graduate and Professional Student Government (GPSG), who also received a Beverly Sears grant.

The Graduate School echoes that appreciation.

“The Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant has been instrumental in funding countless graduate students over the years,” said Scott Adler, dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate affairs. “This program has made dreams a reality for many of these students, and for that the Graduate School is thankful. We would not be where we are without Beverly Sears’ vision and generosity, as well as her tireless support of graduate education.”

Even after her retirement from CU in 1997, Sears continued her volunteer and philanthropy work, making it a point to attend any Graduate School award ceremonies that she could so that she could meet those supported by the award that bears her name.

“My work is always about people,” Sears remarked to the Boulder Chamber. “I love working with people and I love bringing people together to make things happen.”

Information about how to give to the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant is available on the giving page of the Graduate School website. For students interested in applying, information is available on the Graduate School Research Grants page.

This annual research grant, named after the former development officer for the Graduate School, celebrates her legacy of philanthropy while also supporting the financial needs of graduate students.

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Beverly Sears standing by the Robert Frost statue commemorating Bruce Ekstrand in 2015.

Announcing the Dean’s Alumni Fund from the Graduate School

Cay Leytham-Powell — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 18:24:07 +0000

Announcing the Dean’s Alumni Fund from the Graduate School Cay Leytham-Powell Tue, 12/02/2025 - 11:24

This new opportunity to donate will fund current graduate students at CU Boulder

The Graduate School at CU Boulder is pleased to announce the Graduate School’s Dean’s Alumni Fund, launching spring 2026.

This new giving opportunity will fund current graduate students as they navigate their experience at CU Boulder, including providing funds for critical basic needs support, as well as general funding for students as they pursue their research, scholarship and/or creative work.

More information about the specifics of this new fund will be available in the spring.

This fund will be rolled out as part of CU Buffs All In, an annual giving day campaign. Beginning March 1, 2026, and culminating on a massive day of giving on March 31, this campaign is an opportunity for the CU Boulder campus community to celebrate the impact of philanthropy through sharing stories and by giving back.

More information about giving to the Graduate School is available on the Graduate School website.

This new opportunity to donate will fund current graduate students at CU Boulder.

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Celebrating 40 years of the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant

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Announcing the Dean’s Alumni Fund from the Graduate School

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