A generous gift from Delton and Juli Streater Powers of Murrells Inlet will establish the Juli Streater Powers Special Education Initiatives within Coastal Carolina University's Spadoni College of Education. The gift is part of Coastal's 50th Anniversary Initiatives, a capital campaign designed to raise funds to support the university.

Juli S. Powers, a Coastal alumna and former member of the university's board of trustees, and her husband Delton designated that their gift be used for seed money for Coastal's new special education major, which began in fall 2004. The gift will purchase teaching and testing materials and equipment for the program.

"Special education is a program that requires a vast array of teaching aids and materials," said Gilbert Hunt, dean of the Spadoni College of Education. "This gift will meet a very immediate and important need in helping us prepare our students to teach children with special needs."

The Powers plan to take an active role in the planning and advising the new initiative.

A native of Cheraw, Juli S. Powers earned a bachelor's degree from Coastal in 1979 in health and physical education. She was active for many years in civic affairs in Marlboro County and was director of the Marlboro Area Arts Council. She has been a teacher in the Chesterfield and Horry county school districts. She and her husband Delton, an attorney with Joye, Locklair & Powers in Murrells Inlet, have three children, Hailey, Jillian and Stuart.