The Marlon Andrus Endowed Scholarship For Business
Marlon Andrus was a beloved faculty member in SLCC’s Finance and Economics department for more than 30 years. During his time at SLCC, he earned many awards, including the National Teaching Excellence Award from the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs. He also authored a wonderful memoir, 12,000 Students Later: A Seasoned Banker Turned Award-Winning Professor Shares a Wealth of True Stories.
Marlon’s true calling was helping students learn. The classroom served as a formal venue of learning, but his personal interaction at lunches and Friday night gatherings made the lessons more relevant. Because he understood how important connections are in business, Marlon invited senior-level professionals from the community to his classes, teaching finance, investments and insurance concepts to his students.
What Marlon treasured the most in his career at SLCC was his relationships with his students, as he When he retired from SLCC in 2016, Marlon said his proudest moments came from encountering his former pupils in the community and hearing the words, “Your class changed my life.” Marlon remained in contact with many of his students after they left his classroom, up until his passing in 2018. He wrote countless letters of recommendation and was always available to provide career and life advice at a moment’s notice.
Continuing the work of a dedicated educator by supporting tomorrow’s business talent
Marlon’s dedication as a teacher and mentor to students inspired Roger McQueen, a former managing partner at Northwestern Mutual Investment Services and long-standing member of the SLCC Foundation Board and one of Marlon’s successful former students, Ben Jones, currently the managing director and head of intermediary distribution at BMO Global Asset Management and Tonya Andrus, Jodi Vawdrey and a few of Marlon’s other students, to create the Marlon Andrus Endowed Scholarship for Business at SLCC in 2007.
As of 2020, the endowed scholarship has been awarded to eight business students thus far and will continue to support scholars in perpetuity.