Page 90 - Experience Magazine Fall 2022

By the time August drew to a close, classrooms were once again
filling up. For more than 20 years Barrett-Jackson has helped
BACK TO students from across the country continue their education
with scholarships that aim to expand the field of automotive
SCHOOL restoration with new talent from the Restoration Technology
program at McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas.
The college was founded more than 130 years ago as a liberal arts
BARRETT-JACKSON PROVIDES institution focused on career-oriented education. The Restoration
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR RESTORATION TECH DEGREES Technology program became an area of study in 1976 after local
businessman Gaines H. “Smokey” Billue donated more than 125
antique and classic cars.
McPherson stands as the only college in the United States to
offer a 4-year bachelor’s degree in Restoration Technology
with five areas of study: Automotive Restoration Technology,
Automotive Restoration Management, Historic Automotive
Technology, Automotive Restoration Design and Automotive
Communications. Students are taught by faculty that are experts in
engines, sheet metal, chassis, paint, trim, electric systems, assembly
and woodworking.
The program is well-known and supported by many figures in the
collector car community. In 1999, Barrett-Jackson Chairman and
CEO Craig Jackson joined the program’s advisory board, a role
he continued for nearly a decade. Jackson also established the
Russ Jackson Memorial Scholarship and Brian Jackson Memorial
Scholarship at the college to honor his father, Russ, and brother,
Brian.
In 2018 Jackson announced he would be establishing another
scholarship at the college: this one to be earmarked for female
students in the automotive restoration program to honor his
mother, Nellie Jackson. Nellie served as Executive Director of

90 BARRETT-JACKSON EXPERIENCE FALL 2022