Philip Warken Fund
TYPE OF FUND: Field of Interest DATE ESTABLISHED: October 22, 2008
PURPOSE: To provide funds for the needy in Tucker County.
DISTRIBUTION: As stated in the last will and testament of Philip Warken, “… contributions to such funds or activities shall come from the income or the corpus of the Philip Warken Fund and shall be in such amounts and to such causes as determined by the Grants Committee of TCF and approved by the TCF Board of Directors. If, in the sole discretion of the TCF Grants Committee, as approved by the TCF Board of Directors, the income from the Philip Warken Fund exceeds the needs of such funds or activities, the excess income shall be accumulated for such purposes in the future. It is my express intention that such funds be used to establish a college scholarship or scholarships only after all other reasonable needs in Tucker County are satisfied.”
VARIANCE POWER: If, in the judgment of the TCF Board of Directors, the restrictions and conditions of the fund become unnecessary, incapable of fulfillment or inconsistent with the charitable needs of the community, the TCF Board of Directors maintains the right to modify the terms of this fund.
FUNDING: Initial funding from the estate of Philip Warken as established by his will.
BACKGROUND: Philip Walley Warken, 69, an emeritus professor of history and a longtime debate coach at the U.S. Naval Academy, died at his home in Canaan Valley, West Virginia, October 2004.
Mr. Warken’s eccentricities were part of Naval Academy lore. He had been known; for example, to burst into a classroom of unsuspecting midshipmen, declaim a few lines of high-flown rhetoric, then stroll on down the hall. He guarded his privacy so zealously that few if any photos of him are available.
Mr. Warken came to the Naval Academy as an instructor in 1965 with a teaching specialization in American political history. He became head of the academy’s debate program in 1967. By the 1970s, the team was routinely receiving national ranking and prominence as a member of the highly competitive District 8, which includes Georgetown University, George Washington University and James Madison University. His teams competed for several national championships. Midshipman debaters stayed in touch with Mr. Warken over the years. They always referred to him not as “Coach” Warken but simply as “the King.”
Mr. Warken died in the cabin where he spent part of every year. There are no immediate survivors.