Joe Stockwell, BBA ’81, is strongly aligned with CSU Athletics. The former Viking swimmer is an Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, member of the Athletics Visiting Committee, and one of the initiators and main supporters of the Champions Campaign and Heritage Project which raised more than $250,000 for enhancements to Busbey Natatorium.
Now Joe and his wife, Ann, have expanded their Viking outreach through a generous commitment to the Sullivan-Deckard Scholars Opportunity Program which provides financial support, mentoring, and Engaged Learning experiences specifically targeted for students aging out of foster care to assist them in succeeding at the university level. A portion of their gift funded a summer program to help prepare Sullivan-Deckard Scholars to meet the academic and social demands of sophomore year by strengthening academic skills and social-emotional competencies. This second summer program builds upon the foundation of the Sullivan-Deckard Scholars’ first-year experience and first Summer Transition to College Workshop.
Studies have estimated that fewer than half of foster youth apply to college and less than 10 percent of those graduate. The Sullivan-Deckard program identifies students while still in high school and provides support through the college application process. Once admitted and enrolled, students receive free, year-round housing and money for tuition and books, work-study employment, and academic support including tutoring, coaching, advising, mentoring and peer support.
The Stockwells reside in California where Joe is a principal of Odyssey Management Capital.