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Professor’s Vintage Mustang to Fund Scholarships

Professor’s Vintage Mustang to Fund Scholarships
5/12/2016
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Susan Dutca-Lovell

A deceased college professor's 1985 Ford Mustang GT is on the market...to raise money for scholarships and honor the educator who, despite his 35 years of "superb teaching" had no campus memorialization. The vintage muscle car, valued at $15,500, will fund scholarships within three different departments at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Bill Vettes, the Marxist professor at UW-L, is fondly remembered for his humiliation of unprepared students, his "brutal intimidation," and his devotion to teaching "uncomfortable truths." While other classes such as Rec 100 were making snow angels outside his classroom, he demanded attention to "French philosophy with real-world insight." The annual Teacher of the Year Award was suspended after Vettes won it twice in four years.

Vettes' love for his sports cars was evidenced by his ownership of 15 of them - including a 1963 Corvette Stingray, a 1966 Jaguar XKE, a 1987 Mazda RX-7, a 1989 Camaro IROC, and a turbocharged 1991 Dodge Stealth RTU. The man who refused to drive a sports car for less than an hour had even given a former UW-L President's daughter a quick 110 mph ride to school.

Vettes' colleague Jim Parker will be selling the Mustang GT in honor of the Marxist sports car enthusiast. One-third of the proceeds will go to scholarships - one for students studying multicultural understanding, one for elementary education (with a focus on social justice issues), and the last for those majoring or minoring in women's studies or German studies. According to the La Crosse Tribune, the first two scholarships are self-sustaining and when “all three reach that point, Parker will start the William Vettes Scholarship."

If you're passionate about the automotive industry, education, social justice, women's studies, or foreign languages/cultures, check out some of our scholarships by types to begin funding your college education.

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