Dr. Eura O. Lockridge-Burks Donates $15,000 To Columbia State In Honor Of Her Father

Photo caption: (left to right) Columbia State President Dr. Janet F. Smith meets with Dr. Eura O. Lockridge-Burks during Dr. Lockridge-Burks' recent visit to Columbia, TN for a family reunion. Dr. Lockridge-Burks recently donated $15,000 to Columbia State Community College for the purpose of establishing a scholarship endowment. The endowment fund is named for her late parents, Reverend Calvin Martin and Eura Mai Lockridge, both of Columbia, TN.

Dr. Eura O. Lockridge-Burks recently donated $15,000 to Columbia State Community College for the purpose of establishing a scholarship endowment. The endowment fund is named for her late parents, Reverend Calvin Martin and Eura Mai Lockridge, both of Columbia, TN.

The Reverend Calvin Martin was Pastor of First Baptist Church in Columbia, TN. He had an extreme passion for the education of young people. Dr. Eura O. Lockridge-Burks is formerly of Columbia and now resides in Missouri City, TX. She graduated from Carver Smith High School in 1961 as valedictorian of her class and attended Tennessee State University. She then attended the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where she received her doctorate degree in counseling and education psychology.

Dr. Lockridge-Burks was the assistant director of university testing, and taught counseling and educational psychology at Tennessee State University for five years, prior to becoming Chairman of the Counseling Psychology Department at Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX. She retired as teacher counselor for the Student Assignment Center in the Houston Independent School District.

As part of the endowment, Dr. Lockridge-Burks has also donated two books to the Columbia State library, which shares the place her parents played in the early history of the NAACP in Maury County.

Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg and Clifton. As Tennessee's first community college, Columbia State is committed to increasing access and enhancing diversity at all five campuses. Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the sixth largest higher education system in the nation. For more information, please visit www.columbiastate.edu.