Lois Anne Cooke Scholarship

The Lois Anne Cooke Scholarship is a scholarship in memory of Lois Anne Cooke (Sigma 1932/Buffalo State). This scholarship is reserved for a member of the Epsilon Mu Chapter at SUNY Buffalo or Epsilon Rho Chapter at SUNY Geneseo based on academic performance and service to her chapter and community.

About Lois Cooke

Lois Anne exemplified leadership in her professional, personal, and community life. She embodied the concept of personal life balance, the art of striving to be a “whole person” by balancing different aspects of life.

Lois Anne always committed to pursuing what made her happiest in life. When she graduated from Buffalo State in 1933, she taught school for one day and never returned to the classroom. She chose a completely different career and never looked back. She became a professional secretary at Advest, an investment firm, where she worked for 40 years until her retirement. Always the adventurer, she even took a hot air balloon ride at the age of 80.

Her professional accomplishments are almost too numerous to count – to name a few: respected professional, President and Chairwoman of the annual Buffalo Fashion Show,. She was also recognized with two prominent community awards: the Ideal Career Girl Award from the Exposition of Women’s Arts and Industries and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Buffalo chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals, of which she was a charter member and member for 57 years.

With all this, Lois Anne also found the time to leave a legacy with Alpha Sigma Tau. She had what the Alpha Sigma Tau Sisters closest to her called a “commanding presence” in all she did for the Buffalo Alumnae Chapter and the Sigma Chapter at SUNY Buffalo State. Ever the educator, she helped create and fund a National Foundation scholarship to support the educational pursuits of her Sigma Chapter Sisters, which has since been named in her honor.

In 2016, the Alpha Sigma Tau Foundation honored her legacy by naming a Cumulative Giving Society after her. Today, her legacy and impact on women continues through the Lois Anne Cooke Scholarship.