Ken Garland

Written by Kristin Johnson

Ken Garland's love for education, especially mathematics, began in high school. Louella Powers, an outstanding math teacher at Mahnomen High School, influenced his love for math and inspired him to pursue a math major in college. After high school, Ken attended MSUM and later went on to receive a master's degree and PhD in education. For over six decades, he impacted students, transitioning from teacher to administrator in large school districts in Minnesota, Arizona and California.

Having to work while attending college and university for his own education, Ken learned to save and invest for the future. That now allows him to donate some of his earnings to interests close to his heart. The MSUM math department became one of those fortunate recipients, as the Ken Garland Math Endowment was established. Throughout his career, he saw the need for more math teachers, and also the need to help students financially as they obtain their degrees. Over the years, this scholarship will impact countless students in their pursuit of receiving a college education.

His scholarship is funded through a Qualified Charitable Distribution under IRA or 401,403 provisions (Charitable IRA Rollover), which enables taxpayers to transfer annual Required Minimum Distributions directly to charitable organizations in order to exclude the distributions from their taxable income. According to Ken, this is a win-win situation. "I always felt like I owed something to MSUM for all I received while going there," he said. "I feel very fortunate to have good health and a comfortable life and wanted to give back."