May 21, 2026
Story by Ryan Gauthier, rjgauthier@health.missouri.edu
When Leonard and Barbara Bush began to think about the legacy they want to leave behind, one idea quickly rose to the top.
The couple, now retired after long careers in health care, have no children. What they do have is a deep appreciation for the mentors, educators and institutions that helped shape their lives. Giving back through education felt like a meaningful way to honor that support while creating opportunities for generations to come.
That vision has taken shape in a $5.3 million estate gift to the University of Missouri’s College of Health Sciences. The gift will support scholarships for students with financial need, an endowed professorship and an unrestricted support fund for the dean.
“We are deeply honored by Leonard and Barbara’s extraordinary generosity,” said Kristofer Hagglund, dean of the college. “This transformative gift will create lasting opportunities for our students and faculty, and it is an inspiring legacy that will impact the college for generations to come.”
Both Leonard and Barbara Bush say their decision to give at this level was shaped by the many people who helped them overcome barriers throughout their lives. Those experiences, they say, made the importance of access to education unmistakably clear.
“This is our way to give back and provide an opportunity for advancement to students and for the college,” Leonard Bush said. “It’s only through the people we’ve met along the way who built bridges and didn’t put down roadblocks that we’re now able to say this is going to be our legacy.”
Helping hands
Leonard Bush graduated from Mizzou’s College of Health Sciences — then the School of Health-Related Professions — in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in cytotechnology. Cytotechnologists are specialized laboratory professionals who evaluate patient cell samples under a microscope to detect subtle indicators of precancerous, malignant and infectious conditions.
Before coming to Mizzou, Leonard Bush completed two years of coursework at Brevard Community College in Florida, where he also happened to cross paths with Barbara, and then another year of professional cytotechnology training. But he had always dreamed of earning a bachelor’s degree.
He heard about Mizzou’s program in cytotechnology while working at the Audrain County Medical Center in Mexico, Missouri, and reached out to then-Dean Richard Oliver to see whether he could complete the degree while still working. Although the cytotechnology program has since been discontinued, the college continues to support the development of laboratory professionals through the Medical Laboratory Science program in the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences.
Leonard Bush said Oliver was instrumental in opening doors for him and paving a path toward a degree. The duo pored over Leonard’s existing credits and professional experience, ultimately agreeing that Leonard could earn a bachelor’s degree from the university if he were able to commit to completing two semesters’ worth of credits.
“Dean Oliver did everything he could to help a kid with a dream complete his education,” Leonard Bush said. “He embraced what education is all about: If someone wants to better themself and make the world a better place, then you should do what you can to help them along the way.”
Barbara Bush’s career path was similarly shaped by supportive mentors. She earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of South Alabama and went on to leadership roles in health care, crediting those who encouraged her growth and professional development along the way.
Paying it forward
After retiring near Leonard Bush’s roots in Monroe, Tennessee, the couple began reflecting on what they hoped their lives’ work would represent.
Like many retirees, they wanted their resources to make a difference beyond their own lifetimes. Without children to carry on their name, they saw education as a powerful and enduring way to invest in the future.
They ultimately chose to make estate gifts to both the University of Missouri and the University of South Alabama, with the hope that their support will inspire students and strengthen the institutions that helped shape their careers.
“We’ve lived very well under our means and don’t have kids to carry on the name,” Barbara Bush said. “But the names Barbara and Leonard will carry on at Mizzou and the University of South Alabama for hopefully a long time to come — and that’s a little piece of immortality for us.”
For the Bushes, that sense of continuity is less about recognition and more about making a difference in the world. Their gift is a way to ensure future students have the same opportunities to learn, grow and contribute that they once received.
Read about other Tigers working to Power the Roar at Mizzou.
