Red Bay Family Establishes Fund for UA Business School

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The family of the late Fred Gordon Bostick Jr. has established the Fred and Martha Bostick Endowed Support Fund for Faculty Excellence at The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration.

Earnings from the $100,000 gift from the Bostick family will be used to attract and retain outstanding faculty through supplementary salary support and other expenses for faculty members who will be called Fred and Martha Bostick Faculty Fellows.

“We are deeply appreciative of the generosity of the Bostick family,” said Dr. J. Barry Mason, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce. “Support such as this makes it possible for us to compete at the national level for the very best in faculty. Talented faculty members are the key to making sure our students receive an outstanding business education. Competition in this area is extremely strong, and the University and the state of Alabama are extremely fortunate to have supporters such as Fred Bostick and his family.”

John Bostick, Fred Bostick’s oldest son, said, “My dad attended The University of Alabama, but he was drafted in World War II and was never able to return for his degree, but he was always a great Alabama supporter. We felt like this was a great way to memorialize him.”

Fred Bostick, a native and lifelong resident of Red Bay, died Nov. 21, 2001. He was a decorated veteran of World War II and served in the infantry in the 9th Army in France, Belgium and Germany and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. He was discharged in the spring of 1946 at the rank of Master Sergeant, and shortly after his discharge, married his wife of 54 years, the former Martha Ree Bullen.

In 1947 he co-founded Sunshine Feed Mills, now Sunshine Mills, with his father-in-law, Omer J. Bullen. Sunshine Mills is one of the nation’s leading producers of pet foods and treats.

Bostick is survived by his wife, a daughter Harriet, the wife of James Daniel; son John and his wife Pam; son Alan and his wife Margoth, and daughter Jill; sister Patsy Sparks and husband the Rev. Mike Sparks, and eight grandchildren. John is president of Sunshine Homes in Red Bay, and Alan is president of Sunshine Mills Inc., also in Red Bay. Harriet, John, Alan and Jill are all UA graduates.

The Fred Bostick Endowed Fellowship Fund was established earlier by the Bostick family to promote the education of students pursuing a course of study leading to a graduate degree in commerce and business administration. Recipients are distinguished as Bostick Scholars.

The Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, founded in 1919, is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the nation. The undergraduate program is in the top 3-4 percent of public business school programs according to U.S. News and World Report rankings and the Culverhouse School of Accountancy has been ranked as high as 25th nationally.