A new endowment fund has been established to support Cal State Fullerton’s Debate Program.
The Guerin L. Butterworth Endowment Fund was created by a $25,000 gift from Sterling Franklin, trustee of the Morris S. Smith Foundation and a friend of Titan Guerin Butterworth.
Butterworth received her bachelor of arts degree in speech communication from CSUF in 1978. The endowment in her name will provide funding to pay for travel and other expenses for students in the nationally recognized program, which Butterworth coached while she took graduate courses at the University. She went on to earn her juris doctor in 1986.
Butterworth credits her debate experience as beneficial to her career as an attorney. “Debate sharpens one’s thinking,” she said. “I would recommend debate competition to every high school and college student.”
This endowment is the second one created this year in support of the CSUF Debate Program. Butterworth’s former professor and mentor, Lucy Keele, was honored with a scholarship endowment established in her name last spring. Cal State Fullerton boasts one of the largest debate programs in the nation, with approximately 30 students who compete in 25 tournaments each year all over the nation.
For more information regarding the program, contact Katie McGill, director of development for the College of Communications, at 657-278-8231.