When the late Laura Pierce Bump ’58 was celebrated as an OWU Alumni Award winner in 2013 it was said, “When we think of Laura, of course we think of sports.” A 1958 OWU graduate with a degree in Physical Education, Laura was an active participant in student life, including as a member of the YWCA, Red Cross, Panhellenic Council, Alpha Xi Delta and as student body vice president her senior year. But Laura especially shone in athletics, competing in field hockey, basketball and swimming.
Her passion for sports extended beyond her collegiate competition, continuing to push for equality for female athletes throughout her life. She served as the Bishops' head coach in field hockey, basketball, and softball, and later returned as an assistant coach in women’s basketball. It was for these contributions and more, that Laura was inducted into the Ohio Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame in 1978, in the second class of women.
One of her greatest accomplishments was her role in bringing the women’s varsity golf program to Ohio Wesleyan. The Laura Bump Invitational Golf Tournament for NCAA women's division III is played every April with over 15 regional teams competing, in honor of the work and dedication that she put into the sport.
As a charter member of the Cleveland Women’s Officiating Association, she was one of the first women to officiate at the Ohio high school state basketball tournament.
Laura’s service to the community extended beyond athletics. Her other community involvement included being a member of Daughters of American Revolution, volunteering at the free store in Delaware, assisting with the crop walk put on by Asbury Methodist Church, and volunteering for the Marysville Meals on Wheels program for over 28 years.
Laura valued athletics, education, and service to others. With those values in mind, Laura and her late husband Dick ’58 established the Stanley and Cornelia Pierce Endowment for Deferred Maintenance in honor of her parents, who instilled these values in her. In 2007, Laura established the Richard L. and Laura Pierce Bump Endowed Fund for the Renovation and Renewal of OWU Athletic Facilities in honor of her late husband. Laura’s estate gift provided additional support for these endowed funds, as well as funds to renovate Branch Rickey arena.
It’s fitting that Laura’s legacy in athletics, education, and service live on through the giving she intentionally put in place through her planning.