The Community Foundation of West Plains (CFWP) has received a $1.1 million planned gift from the Robert L. Fant Trust to establish a permanent scholarship endowment for area high school graduates attending Missouri State University-West Plains, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks announced Tuesday.
The gift establishes the Robert L. Fant Memorial Scholarship Fund. The permanent endowment is intended to provide ongoing tuition assistance to graduating seniors from West Plains, Willow Springs and Mtn. View-Birch Tree Liberty high schools who enroll at MSU-WP to pursue degrees in medicine, education or business.
The application window for the newly formed scholarship will open Jan. 1, 2027, for the 2027-28 academic year. Interested students will be able to preview the application requirements online at cfozarks.org/applyforscholarships.
Fant, a successful real estate entrepreneur who relocated to West Plains in his retirement, structured the educational endowment alongside his estate attorney, Chrys Fisher. Fant died in March 2024.
“In the course of my discussions with Bob, what emerged was a desire to make a difference in the lives of hard-working young people who were focused on pursuing their education,” Fisher said. “Bob wanted to support our local high school students, and he quickly realized Missouri State University-West Plains was an important next step in their educational journey after high school.”
University officials noted that the endowment directly addresses both educational access and regional economic development.
“These scholarships will change students’ lives and provide the skilled workforce local employers need to stay and grow in the Ozarks,” MSU-WP Chancellor Zora Mulligan said. “We are grateful to Mr. Fant and appreciate his commitment to education.”
The trust contribution builds upon Fant's established history of supporting technical and academic programs in Howell County. The separate Robert Fant Fund, also held by CFWP andlaunched in 2023, continues to distribute more than $4,000 annually to West Plains R-7 School District’s Southern Missouri Technical Institute.
The Community Foundation of West Plains operates as a regional affiliate of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. The parent foundation manages more than $549 million in assets and administers $1.7 million in annual scholarships across central and southern Missouri, including multiple funds reserved exclusively for Howell County students.
Residents interested in establishing charitable legacies or planned giving funds can contact local coordinator Amy Thomas at 417-427-4514 or via email at cfwestplains@cfozarks.org.
