Legacy Gift to Preserve Great Lakes
Michael and Linda Loescher share a lifelong passion for enjoying the best the Great Lakes have to offer. Now, they have made plans to share this passion with the UWM community for decades to come.
Michael Loescher graduated from the UWM College of Engineering & Applied Science in 1991 with a degree in civil engineering. A U.S. Coast Guard-licensed captain, he knows the Great Lakes as an avid boater and maintains a keen interest in the study of global freshwater systems.
Michael’s wife, Linda, has lived near Lake Michigan her entire life and she values preserving the Great Lakes for future use and enjoyment. The Loeschers understand the need for education and research to sustain and improve the lakes.
To ensure the study of freshwater for years to come, the Loeschers recently made a gift to the UWM Foundation to endow the Loescher Great Lakes Scholarship Fund and to start the Loescher Great Lakes Research Fund. The scholarship fund supports students enrolled in the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences, and the research fund will support future Great Lakes research programs at the school.
In addition, the Loeschers have made the UWM Foundation a beneficiary of their retirement planning. At the time we receive this gift, a portion will be used to bolster the scholarship fund, and the remainder will endow the Loescher Great Lakes Research Fund.
Structuring their gift this way provides benefits to the Loeschers. They will know the joy of meeting their scholarship recipients in person during their lifetimes, and their legacy will support fundamental research to benefit the Great Lakes. Using a retirement account as the vehicle for their gift offers them certain tax advantages over other methods.
School of Freshwater Sciences Dean Val Klump described his gratitude for their generous gift: “Like the Loeschers, Milwaukee and UWM share a special relationship with the Great Lakes. The Loescher Scholarship and Research Funds will allow our faculty and students to contribute the research needed to help preserve this globally significant natural resource.”
To learn how you can create a legacy that reflects your passions, like the Loeschers have, contact Gretchen E. Miller, J.D. at gemiller@uwm.edu or (414) 229-3067.