< Back To Archive Taylor Coppenrath, UVM men's basketball standout.		PROFILES IN SCHOLARSHIP: ADVANCING ATHLETICS — BILL ’79 AND LAURIE SHEAN ’80 The tradition of the outstanding student-athlete is a strong and enduring one at the University of Vermont. For more than a century, the opportunity to combine pursuit of academic excellence with the physical challenge of athletic competition has been a part of the UVM experience highly valued by students, alumni, and the community at large. Honoring and strengthening that tradition was the motivation for a $100,000 gift to support athletic scholarships from Bill ’79 and Laurie Shean ’80 of Winchester, Massachusetts. Bill Shean is a senior vice president and portfolio manager for Citizens Financial Group in Providence, Rhode Island, and Laurie Shean is a nurse practitioner in Boston. Both are avid UVM athletics fans, and their enthusiasm has spread to the next generation. Daughter Taylor, 15, and son Davis, 12, both look forward to UVM basketball and hockey games when the teams are in the Boston area, and the Sheans often make the events a true family affair. “I’ve always had a strong interest in UVM athletics, and scholarships were a logical and very tangible way for us to show our support,” says Bill. “It’s also a way to give back to the institution for everything it’s given me over the years.” Shean has been an active alumnus over the years, having served on numerous Alumni Association groups, including two years as its president. He is currently co-chair of the Boston Regional Campaign Committee for The Campaign for the University of Vermont. Laurie Shean is an alumna of the University’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences. She benefited from financial aid as a student at UVM, she said, and appreciated the opportunities her UVM education provided her. “Today, we’re very fortunate to be in a position to be able to help someone else to go to UVM, and we’re happy to do it,” she says. Sponsoring an athletics scholarship, she says, also reinforces the tradition of the strong scholar-athlete at UVM. The Sheans’ gift will fund scholarships for two student-athletes annually at UVM, with the Athletics Department given discretion as to the recipients.