Application Deadline is Monday, February 17, 2014
[CUAC-AEC] The Rev. Canon James G. Callaway, D.D., general secretary of the Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion (CUAC) and the Association of Episcopal Colleges (AEC) announces the 2014-2015 Episcopal Colleges Scholarship sponsored by AEC. The annual award of a William Randolph Hearst Service Learning Scholarship of $5,000 ($1,250 per year over four years) will be made to an outstanding Episcopal student of an Episcopal school, with an emphasis on Service Learning and community service who matriculates at one of the seven American Episcopal Colleges:
- Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
- Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York
- Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio
- St. Augustine College, Chicago, Illinois
- St. Augustine’s University, Raleigh, North Carolina
- The University of the South, Sewanee, TN
- Voorhees College, Denmark, South Carolina
The Episcopal Church has a rich, vigorous tradition of educational institutions, with the Episcopal colleges being complemented by nearly 1,200 Episcopal early childhood education programs, and elementary, secondary and comprehensive schools throughout the Church. The awards announced today—established in 1997 as the William Randolph Hearst Scholarships—emphasize learning through service supported by Episcopal schools and colleges, and seek to recognize students who have been active Episcopalians in their high school and/or home parish.
Applicants must be able to demonstrate a strong record of Service Learning and community service; academic achievement in their junior and senior years; outstanding leadership among their peers in school and in the community; and a commitment to worship and community life in their school and/or parish.
“Because Episcopal schools and Episcopal colleges share the common Baptismal commitment to respect the dignity of every human being, we also share a common commitment to the transformation of students and communities,” noted the Rev. Canon James G. Callaway, general secretary of CUAC. “The transformation of students through excellence in education; the transformation of communities through the impact of our students’ words and deeds among their neighbors. The Episcopal Colleges Scholarship recognizes and celebrates the continuity between these two processes.
Previous scholarship recipients have embodied this balance of inner and outer change. When he matriculated at St. Paul’s School in Maryland, John “Jack” Darrell, recipient of the 2013 Scholarship, discovered that others’ preconceptions, accurate or not, can become strong impediments to inclusivity. Rather than surrendering to a place on the outskirts of the student body, Jack honed his naturally-welcoming instincts, and his love of bicycling, to create a new Bicycle Club that not only to forged a kindred spirit among other “outcasts,’ but also brought about their integration into the larger school community.By the time he enrolled at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Jack had himself become a leader, helping to break down hurtful barriers by modeling an example of unconditional hospitality—and passing the mantle to other Bicycle Club members to continue doing the same.
Evidence of similar commitments to inward and outward transformation by the applicants will be attested to in required letters of recommendation from:
- the head of the Episcopal high school she or he attends,
- a faculty member who has taught the applicant, and
- the school chaplain or the rector of the applicant’s home parish.
Other requirements and instructions detailing the application process are listed on the application form, available on the CUAC website. There is a submission deadline of Monday, February 17, 2014 for studies beginning in September; notification of the awards will be made in the latter part of March.
Applications will be reviewed, and the scholarship recipient(s) chosen, by a committee comprising Episcopal clergy and laity, appointed by the AEC. The General Secretary of CUAC-AEC will inform each recipient of the scholarship award and inform the school. However, qualification for the scholarship is not complete until the recipient is accepted into and matriculates at the Episcopal college listed in her or his application. Upon matriculation, a scholarship award will be prepared by the CUAC-AEC office and made payable to the Episcopal college for tuition or residence fees. In order to receive the scholarship in subsequent years, the college will be asked to send a letter each year notifying CUAC-AEC that the student remains enrolled, has made satisfactory academic progress, and is in good standing.
Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion (CUAC) is a network of the Anglican Communion that seeks to support the mission and identity of some 130 Anglican-affiliated institutions of higher learning around the globe. By encouraging exchanges of faculty, students, and ideas, and promoting opportunities for learning and fellowship—particularly the Triennial Conference, to be held next in 2014 in Seoul, Korea—CUAC helps its members see how their common Anglican identity and ethos is lived out within the various cultures in which it has taken root. In 2012 CUAC also launched the Dr Rowan Williams Annual CUAC Lecture, which each year selects an Anglican luminary to address issues concerning religion, society, and higher education in the context of Anglican thought and praxis.
The Association of Episcopal Colleges (AEC) is a consortium of colleges with historic and present ties to the Episcopal Church. Founded in 1962 and with headquarters in the Episcopal Church Center in New York, the Association is committed to supporting academic excellence and linking faith and values with learning and service. Diverse in curricula and constituency but united by common mission, the Episcopal Colleges represents the best work of the Church in the world. Many are traditional liberal arts colleges; two have historically served the African American community; one was chartered to serve Hispanic immigrants; one is dedicated to health care; and two are overseas, in Liberia and the Philippines.