Ohio University alumnus Dr. James H. Jewell died Jan. 11 at the age of 95,leaving $2.5 million of his estate to the Cutler Scholars Program.
Dr. Jewell and his late wife Nellie C. Rowley Jewell began the Dr. James H. and Nellie Rowley Jewell-Manasseh Cutler Scholarship in 1999 for OU students from Vinton and Meigs County, where he grew up, said Leonard Raley, vice president for university advancement.
This kind of generosity is rare for the Cutler Scholars Program, Raley said.
You can usually count them on one or two hands
he said of the number of people who make such contributions to the program. We're very blessed to have him as an alumnus.
Jewell served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and the U.S. Air Force. During World War II, he helped plan the expeditionary program that lifted wounded soldiers off the beaches of Normandy back to England for treatment.
After the war, he became a chief of the medical staff at St. Joseph's Mercy of Macomb Hospital in Mount Clemens, Mich., and was a chairman in its department of obstetrics and gynecology.
I remember him saying that he was very impressed as a child with a country doctor in his home community who used to make house calls in a horse and buggy said Jack Ellis, vice president emeritus for development and associate director of the Cutler Scholars Program. He would take Jewell who went by the name Harlan
on rounds
and became an inspiration to Dr. Jewell.
Ellis said Jewell credited that example with his decision to become a doctor, and that he was always thankful for the guidance he received as a young boy.
He wanted to dedicate his life to doing something similar
Ellis said. And he did.
Meghan Haynes, a sophomore pre-med student, is the current recipient of the scholarship, which pays for tuition, room, board and stipends for books and a study abroad experience. In addition, Haynes spends part of each summer in an enrichment activity of her choice.
She kayaked through the Bahamas while learning survival skills and volunteered on a Navajo Indian reservation at a center that treats physically and mentally disabled through the use of horses.
My summer experiences have definitely made me more outgoing
Haynes said. I was a very shy person and going into the situations that I've gone into
I can't be that way. I have to be very composed and organized.
Haynes called Jewell throughout the year to wish him a happy birthday, a Merry Christmas and to keep in touch.
The first time I spoke with him on the phone
he said that he hoped I was going to do great things with my scholarship
and that he was asking me to be his girl for the next four years
Haynes said.
Initially, Jewell's scholarship funded one Cutler Scholar every four years. A new student would be chosen when the previous one graduated. However, Ellis said the funds from Jewell's estate make it likely that a new student will be awarded the scholarship each year.
The Cutler Scholars Program's mission is to help shape a new generation of world leaders. It currently consists of 32 students, and hopes to one day have at least 88, one student from each county in Ohio.
Those who knew Jewell said that in addition to being generous, he was soft-spoken and kind.
He was a very modest person
