A longtime University of West Georgia benefactor – and former faculty member – has established an endowed scholarship to assist students pursuing degrees in the Richards College of Business.

The Sarah Angelene Barker Endowed Scholarship, established by Carrollton native Angie Barker, will award its first recipients in fall 2019.

“I am a proud Carrolltonian and a proud West Georgia Wolf, too,” Barker said when asked why she established the scholarship at age 96. “I remember when West Georgia was just three buildings on Front Campus Drive, so I’ve seen it grow from its humble beginnings. It’s been an amazing change to see over my lifetime to see those three buildings grow to a vibrant, high-tech campus.”

Barker grew up in Carrollton, attending Carrollton High School and the University of Georgia, graduating in 1942. She earned her master’s degree at UWG in business administration in 1971 and enjoyed a second career – after several successful years in senior management with Jack Tar Resorts International – teaching high school business education.

“I have such a connection with the Richards College of Business because that’s what I taught while I was back in Carrollton,” Barker said. “I was proud to share my business insights and experience with students who were preparing to enter the business world.”

Following a second retirement, Barker came back to UWG, asked to teach business writing in what was then called the College of Business.

While employed at UWG, Barker was charged by then-President Maurice K. Townsend to launch a formalized alumni association. Barker, along with colleague Frank Pritchett, established the UWG Alumni Association and Board in the mid-1980s.

“Whatever I could have a part in at West Georgia, I wanted to do it,” Barker said. “There was no money allotted in the school’s budget for the alumni. Mr. Pritchett and I were given a space to establish the alumni association, and we basically had to start from scratch, start a database and organize the list of known alumni we could connect with.”

Barker’s father, Homer Barker, was an early doctor of family practice in the West Georgia region and served as a founder of Tanner Medical Center. Barker served on the Tanner Medical Foundation board of directors for several years.

Barker has fond memories of going to the Georgia State Capitol to lobby West Georgia College’s petition to become a university. She said she established the scholarship to ensure she will always have a connection to the university.

“I am so fond of the University of West Georgia, and it means so much to me to have my name associated with it in some way,” Barker said. “The university will always be a part of my life, and I’m so proud that I will always be a part of UWG and help support students’ success in this way.”