Tarleton State University has received a $500,000 donation from Colonel Charles Leigon from his farm property in Morgan Mill.

“The farm will be sold and the proceeds will go into scholarship endowment funds,” Harry Battson, Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications, said.

Leigon’s son, Russell Leigon, acted as the agent and signed over the property to Tarleton because Charles is 95 years old and lives an assisted living facility in Austin.

“[Charles] Legion has a passion for education and specifically for aiding young people who need financial assistance in order to prepare for regarding and successful careers,” Battson said. “He visits as an alumnus back to Tarleton enabled him to meet and talk with students and he became convinced that Tarleton students had the ability and the drive for successful careers and would benefit from financial support.”

90 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the property will go in the Leigon Endowed Nursing Scholarship and the remaining 10 percent will go into an endowed fund to support liberal arts scholarships.

“The farm will be placed on the market. A sale will depend upon when a suitable buyer reaches an agreement with the university. Once sold, the proceeds will be placed in a fund.” As the fund earns more income, “the income will become available for the scholarships. The money has to be in the fund a minimum of one year before the income becomes available for distribution,” Battson said.

“By placing the funds into an endowment, Colonel Leigon will benefit students in perpetuity since only the interest is used to fund the scholarships and the principal stays the same.”