Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation funds $1 million endowment to support Montana students attending Montana State University

BOZEMAN - A new endowment at the Montana State University Alumni Foundation aims to support Montana students for generations to come, thanks to a $1 million investment from the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation.

The endowment will permanently fund the D.A. Peressini Legacy Scholarship, named for father and son Donald and Daniel Peressini. Both attended MSU and later worked for the company Dennis Washington founded, Washington Construction Co.

"On behalf of Montana State University, we are deeply grateful to the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for their extraordinary $1 million gift establishing the D.A. Peressini Legacy Scholarship Fund," said Fran Albrecht, president and CEO of the MSU Alumni Foundation. "This scholarship ensures that future generations of students will have the same opportunity to pursue their dreams. We are honored to carry their story forward."

The scholarship will be awarded annually to an incoming MSU freshman who is a Montana resident and will cover four years of tuition and fees.

"The D.A. Peressini Legacy Scholarship Fund is named in honor of two individuals, Don and Danny, a father and son who not only shared the same initials but also a lifelong commitment to education, civic engagement and hard work," said Jon Bennion, executive director of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation. "Both began their academic journeys at MSU and pursued careers in civil engineering, overcoming financial and generational barriers to higher education. Their legacy includes supporting and investing in the transformative power of learning."

Donald Peressini was born in Great Falls and raised in the Mission and Bitterroot valleys. He graduated from Missoula County High School (today called Hellgate High School), where he met Dennis Washington. After two years in the Army, Don Peressini attended MSU to study engineering and later was invited by Washington to work for Washington Construction Co., where he remained for more than 30 years, ultimately serving as corporation president.

Peressini and his wife, Betty, had three children, and the endowment is also named for their son, Daniel. Danny Peressini was also an engineer and began working for the Washington Construction Co. in 1997. He died in 2021.

"We are incredibly grateful to the Denny and Phyllis Washington Foundation for honoring our family and investing in the future of Montana students," Donald Peressini said. "This scholarship reflects a shared belief in the power of education and the importance of making college more accessible for Montanans. Knowing that this support will help open doors for future generations is something our family will always cherish."

The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation has provided funding and support in Montana and beyond since it was founded in 1988. That support is often focused in the areas of education, community service, arts, culture and health. This latest endowment is the sixth gift or grant made by the foundation in the past year aimed at supporting higher education at MSU. Last March, the foundation gifted $4.8 million to MSU to support the construction of a new building for Gallatin College MSU, and in October 2025, it made a $1.1 million gift to Montana Tech to establish an endowed scholarship similar to the D.A. Peressini Legacy Scholarship at MSU.