A new award given by La Sierra University will fund student activities and scholarships while honoring a past president.
The first event surrounding the award, which will come from the Tom and Vi Zapara School of Business, is set for Thursday, Oct. 26, in downtown Riverside.
Former La Sierra University President Larry Geraty and his wife Gillian are set to receive the award at a gala at the Riverside Convention Center. The event is sold out, but $200,000 in proceeds from sponsorships and ticket sales will begin an endowment for scholarships and student activities, a university news release states.
The Lifetime Achievement Award will salute the couple for its “transformative work within Seventh-day Adventist higher education and their local and global communities,” the release states.
Larry Geraty, an archaeologist, biblical scholar and administrator, was the university’s second president and served from 1993 to 2007. He is now its president emeritus and executive director of the university’s foundation.
The Geratys are credited for raising the university’s profile in the city through civic involvement. For example, among his honors, Larry Geraty in 2007 was named Citizen of the Year by the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce. He also led the redevelopment of 330 acres of university agricultural land into what is now the Riverwalk development.
“The Geratys have devoted more than 50 years of their lives to advancing Adventist education and engaging with and bettering their communities, and have left substantive imprints that have changed many lives,” John Thomas, dean of the Zapara School of Business, said in the release.
The gala will include performances by professionals, students and those in the community.
Proceeds will go to the new endowment, which will support the Zapara School’s mission of scholarships, research and other student initiatives, the release states.
