Ray E. Cramer Graduate Scholarship
(est. 1997) William A. Cook (1931-2011) was born in Mattoon, Illinois. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Northwestern University in 1953 and pursued post-graduate work in physics at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. In 1963 Mr. Cook began Cook Group, Inc., in his family apartment in Bloomington. He combined the biological knowledge gained at Northwestern University with his U.S. Army training in operating-room technology and his experience in a Chicago medical company. He then applied them to the creation of innovative, life-saving devices. Today Cook Group, Inc. is one of the largest private medical device manufacturers in the world. Many physicians have praised Mr. Cook's ingenuity and his ability to provide practical solutions to medical problems.
Born March 1, 1934 in Evansville, Indiana, Gayle (Karch) Cook is a businesswoman, philanthropist, author, and preservationist. Despite the demands of being co-owner of Cook Group, Inc., she has been an active and highly successful advocate of historic preservation. Mrs. Cook has restored a number of buildings in southern Indiana and has shared her passion for the area's landmarks through two books, A Guide to Southern Indiana (with William Cook) and Monroe Country in Focus: Portrait of an Indiana County (with Diana Hawes). A 1956 graduate of Indiana University with a B.A. in Fine Arts, Mrs. Cook has maintained close ties to her alma mater as a board member of the IU Foundation and a life member of the Alumni Association.
In 1997, Cook Group, Inc. established the Ray E. Cramer Graduate Scholarship in honor of Professor Emeritus Ray Cramer. Each year the scholarship is awarded to deserving graduate students majoring in wind conducting.