University President Pat Long was excited to accept a donation from the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation..

Grant Programs Director Terry Manies said the $7,000 grant is specifically for private universities. Manies said Ottawa University also received a grant. Both universities were required to submit an application describing how they would spend the funds. Baker will put the money toward the development of the ethics programs.

“Baker was selected by Kansas Rep. Dale Willey who was the outgoing chair of the National Automobile Dealers Association,” Manies said. “It was up to him to choose where the money should go.”

Manies said the grant was given to memorialize John P. Winston Sr., who was long time lawyer of the NADA who met an untimely death. During the presentation of the grant Sept. 23 at Collins House, Manies said they had an opportunity to learn a lot about Winston.

“They decided the best way to honor his legacy, since he was such an ethical person, was to donate the money towards ethics programs,” Manies said.

Long said Baker never has received a gift from this foundation. She said new gifts from foundations always are good because they give the university an opportunity to establish itself.

Long said this grant is the seed money Baker needs to help the ethics program to grow.

“I think this grant is right at the heart of what we do, which is prepare responsible, competent contributors to society,” Long said.

Willey, owner of Dale Willey Automotive in Lawrence, has been a member of the NADA since 1971 and has been on the board of trustees of the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation for 11 years, which is funded by dealers.

Willey said these grants are given out once a year in four different regions of the nation. Private universities are selected because state institutions such as the University of Kansas get support from the Kansas Legislature, Willey said.

“Baker and Ottawa are both in my marketing area,” Willey said. “I felt we should keep the grant in the local region.”

Willey said in addition to the grants, the foundation has ambassadors who are dealers that have contributed $10,000. Willey said every three years $1,500 of the money contributed will come back and can be used for a charity of the dealer’s choice.

“(The foundation) is a nice way for a dealer to give back to their community for all that it has given him or her,” Willey said.

Junior Nathan Judy is a philosophy and sociology major. Judy said he thinks the ethics program at Baker should be expanded.

“We have ethics as a course and law and morality, which is an extension of that class, but we really don’t have anything to apply it to,” he said.