News and Progress

Audrain County Flagship Scholar announced

Chancellor Brady Deaton presents scholarship at Mizzou Alumni Association event

May 29, 2008

Chancellor Brady Deaton congratulates Meghan Bedford as he presents her University of Missouri Flagship Scholarship. Bedford will serve as a Mizzou ambassador.

Chancellor Brady Deaton presented Meghan Bedford, of Mexico, Mo., with a University of Missouri Flagship Scholarship worth up to $15,000 at a Mizzou Alumni Association social in Mexico May 29. Bedford, a senior education major, is the first Audrain County recipient of the Flagship Scholarship, which is worth up to $15,000 to pay for tuition and fees, room, board and books.

“I am extremely honored to be named as one of the Flagship Scholars of 2008-2009,” Bedford said. “I look forward to serving my community of Mexico, Mo, by being an ambassador for the University of Missouri and higher education.”

A 2005 graduate of Mexico Senior High School, Bedford is the daughter of Larry and Carol Bedford and is a senior elementary education major at MU. She is a member of The National Scholars Honor Society and Delta Delta Delta sorority. She has served in a number of leadership positions in her sorority and works in the customer service department at Shelter Mutual Insurance Company.

Deaton announced the MU Flagship Scholars Program in April. It ultimately will provide a four-year scholarship to at least one student in every Missouri county and the city of St. Louis. Students who demonstrate outstanding service and leadership and are the first in their family to attend college receive priority consideration.

“I was the first in my own family to earn a college degree, and I certainly would not be where I am today without support from my family, mentors and the community,” MU Chancellor Brady Deaton said. “The goal of the MU Flagship Scholars Program is to provide similar opportunities to students across the state. I couldn't be more excited about this program and its potential to change Missouri students’ lives.”

Flagship Scholars are ambassadors for education and MU in their families as well as their communities. Recipients give back at least 20 hours per year in their home communities promoting education and college attendance. The scholarship may be used at MU with no restrictions relative to the student’s intended degree, major or academic unit.

The Audrain County scholarship is funded through an estate gift left by Margaret Waters Jordan and her husband, Gerald, of Vandalia. Mrs. Jordan graduated from MU in 1931. The Jordans owned the family business, Water Furniture, in Vandlalia before their deaths. Mrs. Jordan left the university $8 million in her will.