Windsor Straw helped to write a significant part of SDSU’s story, lending thirty years of service to the university through instruction, editing, and the university printing lab; meanwhile, his wife, Pam Powers, helped students discover a world of learning within the campus library.

It’s no surprise, then, that the couple’s daughter, Pamela, would follow in their Jackrabbit footsteps – but her philanthropic legacy would go on to surprise the university on a grand scale.

Once described as “State clear to the roots,” the Straw family holds deep ties to SDSU, with a transformational estate gift marking the culmination of generations of generosity and service.

Pamela, who went by her middle name of Ann, was the daughter of two lifelong Jackrabbits who built their careers at the university.

All four of Windsor and Pam’s children would go on to pursue their higher educations at SDSU, with Ann exploring her interests in mechanical engineering.

Following graduation in 1953, she set off for a job with General Electric, but felt the pull of SDSU once more four years later.

Ann returned to State to take up work in the mathematics department. Though she later transitioned to a career with U.S. West Communications (now Century Link), Ann remained a friend to the university, never forgetting its impact on the whole Straw family. 

After Ann passed away in November 2020, South Dakota State University received notice of an unexpected gift.

Leaving over $300,000 of her estate to SDSU, she ensured that her legacy would honor the memory of her parents, who spent their careers enhancing the written word at State.

With her unanticipated philanthropy, Ann endowed the Windsor and Pamela Straw Scholarship in Journalism, supporting future Jackrabbits who will tell and preserve the university’s story, just as her parents did – and planting a seed so that others may put down roots at SDSU.