What began as a thoughtful gift to UIS in 1992 has developed into an endowed scholarship fund for freshman or transfer students entering criminal justice studies. Dennis Sedlak enrolled at UIS (then Sangamon State University) in the early 1970s through an Illinois law enforcement program. His instructors revolutionized the concept of law enforcement's role in the community, especially in the area of race relations. Now Mr. Sedlak is giving back to the University – and Illinois communities – through the Dennis L. Sedlak Endowed Scholarship fund, designed to assist criminal justice students. According to Mr. Sedlak, these students are entering a career that has more “civic rewards than financial ones.” Through the fund, he seeks to lessen the burden of debt its recipients will face after graduation. If no student in Criminal Justice meets the scholarship requirements, the award will go to a student in Business Administration.