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 Ģ������ƵStories      September 15, 2025

By Bill Studenc

A husband and wife with degrees from the Parks and Recreation Management Program at Ģ������Ƶ have established an endowed fund to support students who are following in their footsteps at their alma mater and to equip PRM professors with additional resources.

Johnny and Dawn Day, who both graduated from Ģ������Ƶin 1988, have made gifts and pledges totaling $25,000 to create the Johnny and Dawn Day PRM Program Endowment Fund.

The fund is designed to support experiential learning and professional development opportunities for students and faculty in the Parks and Recreation Management Program at WCU, said Paul Stonehouse, program director.

“Funds can offset student fees for parks and recreation management travel courses to Costa Rica, the Boundary Waters of Minnesota and the Cataract Canyon in Utah,” said Stonehouse, who holds a doctorate in outdoor education from the University of Edinburgh.

 “Additionally, this gift will make service-learning experiences, campground stays and field trips within our traditional courses possible. The endowment will also help faculty maintain certifications within the disciplines they teach, which aids in the management of risk in our courses,” he said.

The Days are residents of Church Hill, Tennessee, where he is a founder and principal partner with Grace Philanthropy Services and she is executive director of the Northeast Tennessee Chapter of the American Red Cross.

The couple said they decided to contribute philanthropically to their alma mater and to their undergraduate program to give future students the same opportunities and experiences that they enjoyed during their time in Cullowhee.

“To us, experiential learning and professional development were key parts of our parks and recreation management experience,” Johnny Day said. “It opened the doors of the world to us, and we feel that part of the program needs to continue.”

The Days said they benefited academically and professionally from experiential learning opportunities when they were students at WCU, and they wanted to be able to help offer those same opportunities to students following in their footsteps.

“We both got to travel to Europe as students and see things for the first time,” Dawn Day said. “That opened our eyes to the possibilities for what the future might hold.”

Those shared experiences in the classroom and through extracurricular activities convinced the Days to create the Johnny and Dawn Day PRM Program Endowment Fund at WCU.

“Ģ������Ƶ is a wonderful school, and it means so much to Dawn and me,” Johnny Day said. “We just want to play a small role in helping young people today fulfill their dreams and see the world through the eyes of Western.”

Stonehouse characterized the gift as “tangible affirmation of the power of a parks and recreation management education at Ģ������Ƶ.”

“Generous gifts like this endowment from Johnny and Dawn Day make profound experiential opportunities possible for students who might otherwise struggle to afford them,” he said. “In a sense, these gifts help level the playing field and open up access.”

The Days’ commitment comes as Ģ������Ƶis in the midst of the public phase of its “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign, an effort to raise a minimum of $100 million in philanthropic support for the university’s academic, student engagement and athletics programs.

For more information about the “Fill the Western Sky” campaign or to make a contribution, visit , call 828-227-7124 or email advancement@wcu.edu.