Beatty has presented the NDSU Development Foundation with a $100,000 gift through a charitable trust. Initially wanting to keep her gift confidential, she changed her mind in hopes that others could learn from her generosity. "Perhaps my example will get other people thinking," she said. "People who usually give to a univeristy are either incredibly rich or old. I am 57, which I don't consider that old, and I'm certainly not rich."

Beatty said the charitable trust option was perfect for her and she suggests others consider it. "If they are already thinking about giving in the future and if there is any way they can do it right now, they should do it," she said. "There are tax advantages and the arrangement that the foundation has is reimbursing me at 6 percent. That is better than I can do with a 30-year treasury note. It's a win-win situation."

Half of her gift's proceeds will go to scholarships for graduates and undergraduates in the NDSU Psychology Department, while the other half will go to women student-athletes. "I just know it is the right thing to do. I feel so strongly about that," Beatty said. "It's a good feeling knowing I am helping students."

Her reasons go back to her days on the women's basketball, volleyball and softball teams during her freshman and sophomore years at Wittenburg College in Springfield, Ohio. "Athletes had a major impact on my education," said Beatty, who maintains her love for sports. She later transferred to Kent State University and then earned her master's and doctorate at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in experimental psychology.

Beatty came to NDSU in 1969 as an assistant professor of psychology in what was then a small department. "My ex-husband and myself were two-thirds of the department's faculty," she said. "Also there weren't many women on the entire NDSU faculty."

Her leadership was clear from the beginning. In the 1971-72 academic year alone, her classes held about 2,000 students and she was among the first faculty to break up large classes into small groups so the students could "feel more comfortable." She remembers that one class had 38 small groups. "We met in rooms all over campus, in churches and any place we could find," she said.

Her skills were recognized in 1972, when she became the first winner of the Robert Odney Award for excellence in teaching. However, her outstanding teaching career was to be cut short.

In 1971, Beatty was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and she was forced to retire in 1977. "Even though I had a short career at NDSU, I feel I impacted thousands of students," she said.

Beatty refuses to slow down. She continues to be active and has attended nearly every home game of the NDSU women's basketball team during the past decade. "I have a positive outlook on life," she said. "That philosophy started in childhood and continued all through my life.

"I benefited from scholarships when I was in school and I want my gift to provide scholarships for student-athletes in good academic standing," Beatty said. "By providing scholarships to psychology undergraduates and graduates, it enables them to get more out of the university experience, both academically and socially."