Dr. Charles R. McDonald, known as the “Father of TOPS,” passed away August 26th. Thousands of Louisiana residents have benefited from the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (originally named the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students), which he authored.
Most of the program’s beneficiaries don’t know much about McDonald or the decades-long history of TOPS, which grants thousands of Louisiana students access to higher education each year.
Before the inception of the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students, there was TAP, the Tuition Assistance Plan, created in 1992.
TAP wasn’t the first tuition assistance program either. Its predecessor, the Louisiana College Tuition Plan, was created in 1989. Both programs helped young Louisianians access higher education but came with income caps that limited the number of students who could benefit.
TOPS was devised as a tuition assistance program without income caps. In 1997, the Louisiana Legislature passed Act 1375 and Act 287, and former Governor Mike Foster signed TOPS into law.
In 2008, TOPS was renamed the “Taylor Opportunity Program for Students” to honor Patrick F. Taylor, the man who originally pushed for legislation assisting Louisiana students in the 80s.
As of this year, TOPS is 26 years old. During the 2022-23 school year, the program helped 49,721 students gain access to higher education. More than 16,000 of the recipients attended LSU.
Since the inception of TOPS, over $4.5 billion has gone into helping more than 400,000 Louisiana students through their academic journeys. Many of those students wouldn’t have been able to go to school if it wasn’t for TOPS and the man who authored it.
McDonald was born May 4, 1939, in Jonesboro-Hodge Louisiana, according to his obituary, published by Mulhearn Funeral Homes of Winnsboro, Louisiana.
He graduated from Holly Ridge High School and Northeast Louisiana State College. McDonald was a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army and was present in Germany during the Berlin Wall crisis. He was honorably discharged in 1965.
Afterward, McDonald worked as a teacher and coach at Oak Grove High School. He received a master’s degree in education administration and an Ed. D. from The University of Louisiana Monroe, later becoming the Director of Financial Aid at ULM while still teaching.
In 1991, McDonald began his career in the Louisiana Legislature where he served his constituents for nearly two decades. He was the lead author of the Tuition Opportunity Program, and in 2017, he was appointed to the Louisiana Board of Regents, a state agency that coordinates public higher education in Louisiana.
“Dr. McDonald had a true servant’s heart, always working to help others,” said ULM president Dr. Ron Berry in an article from the university. “He was one of ULM’s strongest advocates. . .”
