Legacy and Longevity: Celebrating Professor Bill Weis’ Remarkable Impact

If you’re an alum of the Albers School of Business & Economics, you probably know Professor Bill Weis. Officially the longest serving member of the school, Weis celebrated his 50-year anniversary at Seattle University in 2023 and recently retired.  As if half a century of educating young minds wasn’t enough of an impact, Weis established an endowed scholarship to continue supporting Albers students even after his retirement. 

“I hope the scholarship is a nudge that helps some people in need,” says Weis. “It’s not everything, but it’s helpful for somebody on a budget to have part of the expenses covered.” 

While teaching at Albers, Weis largely impacted two groups of students: undergraduate accounting students in his first quarter century, and MBA students in his most recent 25 years. This inspired his desire to provide perpetual support to both undergraduate accounting students and MBA students with financial need in underserved communities through the Bill Weis Legacy Endowed Scholarship. 

"I would have given anything for the Seattle U student experience," Weis says. "It would have changed my life. And I want to support that." 

Weis isn’t alone in seeing the life changing potential of the Seattle University experience. To complete the endowment of his gift, he used the platform of Seattle U Gives where he found immense support from the Seattle University community. 

Seattle U Gives is the university’s 24-hour online day of giving that celebrates the community’s generosity and impact and raises critical funds for a wide variety of campus priorities. A great rallying point during Seattle U Gives are “challenges,” where major donors, sponsors and university groups pledge an amount of money that becomes available when certain thresholds of gifts are met.  

Weis decided to create a challenge during Seattle U Gives. If 10 gifts of any kind were made to the Bill Weis Legacy Endowed Scholarship fund, it would “unlock” the last $10,000 needed to fully endow the scholarship. In 24-hours, the Bill Weis Legacy Endowed Scholarship received 34 gifts, far surpassing the challenge goal, and raised over $20,000. It was a testament to Weis’s impact on the Albers community. 

“The turnout at Seattle U Gives was satisfying, gratifying and flattering. I appreciate the acknowledgment,” says Weis. 

Endowing a scholarship is a powerful way to support the university because it creates a lasting legacy that benefits students, faculty and programs. The initial gift for the endowment is invested, and a percentage of the returns from that investment will be used to fund the scholarship year after year. Weis and the donors that contributed to the fund during Seattle U Gives have created a scholarship that will provide financial support to Albers students in perpetuity.  

"An endowed scholarship fund is something that will live on and make a difference in people's lives over a long period of time,” says Weis. “I believe in what Seattle University does, our programs, and what we do for the student experience, so if I can help somebody have that, it’s worthwhile for me.” 

Learn more about supporting or establishing an endowment at Seattle University.