Theme: Link scholarship: UUP’s labor of love

Nearly 20 years ago, Eugene Link of SUNY Platts-burgh envisioned a way to honor the history of the union he helped found — and assure its future — through a scholarship fund for college students.

Today, Link’s dream has not only grown, but flourished. The Eugene P. Link Scholarship Fund, created by UUP to recognize Link’s service to youth and to academic unionism, gave its first awards in 1988. And those working with the fund — which now tops $100,000 — say it has indeed paid tribute to social justice and the values of organized labor, just as Link hoped it would.

“The real difference between our winners and other students who are highly qualified is their social conscience and real involvement in community activities,” said UUPer Alan Shank of SUNY Geneseo, who chairs the Link Scholarship Selection Committee. “What we’re looking for is something where they’ve given of themselves to others.”

Link scholarships of $650 per semester, with annual adjustments tied to tuition, are awarded to SUNY undergraduates who demonstrate a commitment to social issues and labor ideals. To date, 44 SUNY undergraduates have received Link scholarships.

“Eugene Link exemplifies union activism, and it’s a wonderful tribute to him that the scholarship fund has been so successful,” said UUP President William Scheuerman, who has known Link for many years.

UUP Secretary Eileen Landy, officer liaison to the Link selection committee, said that both committee members and UUP delegates “deserve a big thank you” for contributing time and money to the fund.

A professor emeritus of history who taught in the SUNY system for 35 years, Link is renowned for his knowledge of the development of the American labor movement. He lives in Medford, N.J., and has retained an active involvement in the scholarship fund over the years. Link’s wife, Beulah, who shared his enthusiasm for academic unionism and philanthropy, died Nov. 9.

It was the Links’ generous $20,000 donation last July that put the scholarship fund over the $100,000 mark, said UUPer Gertrude Butera of SUNY Alfred, an honorary Link trustee who handles the Link fund-raising effort.

Members have followed Link’s example of generosity, Butera said. “Our people want to give, and this has been the pleasure of this assignment for me — getting to know the wonderful people of our union,” she said.

Working closely with the scholarship has been especially rewarding, Butera said, because it’s given her a chance to see Link’s ideals embodied in a new generation.

Said Butera: “The students are so appreciative of what he’s done, and are so inspired by him.”

The generosity of UUPers, whose support for the Link fund continues to build, is borne out by the success stories of past recipients. This month, The Voice catches up with a sampling of Link winners who remain shining examples of the ideals and values espoused by Eugene Link and the union he loves.

— Darryl McGrath