Alabama's Public Liberal Arts University

English Department

Scholarships

The English Department awards the following scholarships:

| For incoming freshmen | For incoming majors | For sophomores, juniors, and seniors | For Adult Returning |  For Graduate or Transfer |

For incoming freshmen

The Jim Harrell Poetry Scholarship Awards

For incoming majors

THE ENGLISH MERIT SCHOLARSHIP

  Description:

This scholarship, funded by an anonymous donor, provides a $3,500 award for an incoming freshman English major, beginning in the Fall semester.  Awardees who meet the established criteria will continue to receive $3,500 each academic year, for a maximum of three additional years.

Scholarships may become available for new sophomore, junior, and senior applicants as the original awardees do not continue to qualify.

Criteria for applicants:

  • High school GPA of 3.2 or higher.
  • Completion of application form and all indicated requirements, including essay on designated topic.
  • Two letters of recommendation from high school teachers.
Criteria for continuation of award:
  • Completion of at least 30 hours during the academic year, with a GPA of 3.2 or above.
  • Continued enrollment as an English major.
Procedures:
  1. The application deadline for Fall 2008 entrance is February 29, 2008.
  2. Selection of the English Merit Scholarship recipient will be made by the Scholarships and Awards Committee of the English and Foreign Languages Department in March or April 2008.
  3. The award will be paid in two equal installments, one at the beginning of the Fall semester, one at the beginning of the Spring semester, during each academic year for which the recipient remains eligible.

Application Form for English Department Merit Scholarship

THE JUDY NORDAN TROTTER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP 

    Description:

This award of $600 is presented each year to an outstanding high school graduate.

Priority is given to a graduate of a Shelby County high school who has been regularly admitted to the University of Montevallo and who intends to major in English.  Students from surrounding counties may also be considered.

Criteria for applicants:

  • High school GPA of 3.0 or higher.
  • Graduation from high school in Shelby County or its surrounding counties.
  • Involvement in school and community activities.
  • Completion of application form, including a one-page statement of career goals as an English major.
  • Two letters of recommendation, at least one of which is from a high school teacher.

Procedures:

  • The application deadline for Fall 2008 entrance is February 22, 2008.
  • Selection of the Judy Nordan Trotter Memorial Scholarship recipient will be made by the Scholarships and Awards Committee of the Department of English and Foreign Languages in March or April 2008.
  • The award will be paid in two equal installments, one at the beginning of the Fall semester, one at the beginning of the Spring semester.

Application form for Trotter Memorial Scholarship

 

For sophomores, juniors, and seniors

THE MELBA GRIFFIN SCHOLARSHIP

History and Description: The Melba Griffin Scholarship in English was established in 1998 according to the provisions of the will of Melba Griffin, a 1927 alumna of the University of Montevallo.  Ms. Griffin, who studied English at the University of Montevallo, lived in Pequot, Minnesota, at the time of her death on October 12, 1996.  Ms. Griffin’s generous bequest of $140,000.00 allows the English Department to grant up to four scholarships annually.

 Requirements and Procedures:

  1. Applicants should be English majors and have sophomore, junior, or senior status in the year the award is paid. 
  2. Applicants should have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above.
  3. Eligible students should submit the following by February 22, 2008, to Professor Eric Vaccarella, Chair of the Scholarship and Awards Committee, care of the Department of English and Foreign Languages:
    • An unofficial copy of your most recent transcript from the Records Office indicating all completed classes and the classes for which you are currently registered
    • A résumé
    • An essay of between 600-800 words that responds to the following quotation:
 “The way a book is read -which is to say, the qualities a reader brings to a book- can have as much to do with its worth as anything the author puts into it.”   

     -- Norman Cousins  (Educator, journalist, political activist)

  1. The Committee, after consultation with the full English Department, will select the winner(s).   
  2. The award will be announced at the Honors Day Ceremony.  The scholarship for each student will be paid in two equal sums, dispersed at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters.  The amount of the award varies with available funding and the number of winners selected.  Recent awards have been in the neighborhood of $1,500.
  3. Please address any questions about this award to Professor Eric Vaccarella – Office: Comer 101B, 665-6415.

Melba Griffin Scholarship Application form

 

THE EVA O. GOLSON SCHOLARSHIP

History and Description: In April of 1985, The University of Montevallo, friends, and former students established the Eva O. Golson Scholarship Fund as a tribute to Dr. Golson, whose career at the University spanned forty-six years.  The scholarship was intended to perpetuate the ideals of Dr. Golson: devotion to learning, love of language, commitment to scholarship, and compassion for others.  Each year since 1986, an outstanding English major with broad academic interests has been awarded the scholarship for use in the senior year. 

 Requirements and Procedures:
  1. Applicants should be English majors who have completed 60-89 hours and have at least a 3.4 GPA.
  2. Eligible students should submit the following by February 22, 2008, to Professor Eric Vaccarella, Chair of the Scholarship and Awards Committee, care of the Department of English and Foreign Languages:
  • A completed application form
  • An unofficial copy of your most recent transcript from the Records Office indicating all completed classes and the classes for which you are currently registered
  • A résumé
  • An essay of approximately 500 words that discusses your educational & career goals 
  1. The Committee, after consultation with the full English Department, will select the winner.  Consideration will be given to GPA, variety of courses taken, participation in extra-curricular activities, and evidence of qualities such as the capacity for independent and original thought, the love of learning, and a concern for others.
  2. The award will be announced at the Honors Day Ceremony.  It will be paid in two installments during the Golson Scholar’s senior year.  The amount of the award varies with available funding; recent prizes have been in the neighborhood of $1,000.
  3. Please address any questions about this award to Professor Eric Vaccarella – Office: Comer 101B, 665-6415.

Application form for Golson Scholarship

 

THE CYNTHIA ACOSTA GRAVLEE SCHOLARSHIP 

Description: The Cynthia Acosta Gravlee Scholarship is awarded to a student majoring in English and minoring or majoring in a Foreign Language.  The scholarship is for use in the student’s junior year and may be renewed for up to one year if the student remains enrolled at The University of Montevallo, is continuing with his or her English and Foreign Language programs, and has maintained at least a 3.0 average in both programs.  The scholarship is awarded based on scholarship (a minimum 3.0 GPA) and evidence of humanitarian concerns through campus and community service.  The recipient will be chosen by selected members of the English and Foreign Language Department faculty.

Requirements and Procedures:
  1. Applicants should be English majors with a Foreign Language major or minor and have junior status in the year the award is paid.
  2. Applicants should have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above.
  3. Eligible students should submit the following by February 22, 2008, to Professor Eric Vaccarella, Chair of the Scholarship and Awards Committee, care of the Department of English and Foreign Languages:
    • A completed application form
    • An unofficial copy of your most recent transcript from the Records Office indicating all completed classes and the classes for which you are currently registered
    • A résumé including descriptions of campus and community service
    • A brief essay of between 200-300 words that explains why you have chosen to major in English and major or minor in Foreign Language
  4. The Committee, after consultation with the full Department, will select the winner(s). 
  5. The award will be announced at the Honors Day Ceremony.  The scholarship for each student will be paid in two equal sums, dispersed at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters.  The amount of the award varies with available funding and the number of winners selected.  Awards will likely be between $500.00 and $1000.00 per year.
  6. Please address any questions about this award to Professor Eric Vaccarella – Office: Comer 101B, 665-6415.

Application form for Gravlee Scholarship

 

HEAD/CLEVELAND SCHOLARSHIP

History and Description:

The Head/Cleveland Scholarship was established in 1992 by family and friends who wished to honor the memory of three remarkable Shelby County women: Mrs. Sarah Thomas Head, who died in August of 1961 at the age of 91, and her daughters Mrs. Frances Head Cleveland, who died in February of 1992 at the age of 97, and Miss Carrie Thomas Head, who died in June of 1992 at the age of 95.

Sarah Head, founder of the Head/Cleveland Scholarship, died in September of 2000 at the age of 93. The third daughter of Sarah Thomas Head and the sister of Frances Head Cleveland and Carrie Thomas Head, she was an outstanding woman whose compassion, intelligence, and energy were admired by family and friends, including those in the University of Montevallo community.

These women devoted themselves to learning, championing the special value of education for women in the South. Proponents of equal rights and opportunities for all people, regardless of sex and race, they had faith that ideas of human equality could be translated into social and political action. Their lives also enacted their conviction that human beings must be stewards of the natural world, responsible for their treatment of the earth and appreciative of its beauty.

Through the Head/Cleveland Scholarship program, it is hoped that these four women and their high ideals will continue to be inspirations to others. This renewable scholarship is awarded annually to one or more enrolled University of Montevallo students who, in the judgment of the Selection Committee, demonstrate financial need, academic achievement, and motivation to complete a bachelor's degree. Funds for the scholarship come from interest earned on the accumulated principal.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF AWARD:

 1.      Sophomore, junior, or senior status (30-100 earned credit hours, with at least 30 hours earned at UM). NOTE: Hours for which you are currently enrolled do not count toward the minimum of 30 earned credit hours.

2.      Demonstrated financial need.

3.      Academic achievement.

4.      Cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 or above.

5.      Motivation to complete a bachelor's degree

Head/Cleveland Scholarship Procedures

  1. Selection Committee to be composed of two or three faculty members (active and/or retired) and one or two University of Montevallo graduates, for a total of three to five members. (The initial committee was composed of Elizabeth Rodgers, Norman McMillan, and Sarah Head.)  
  2. Selection Committee to be chosen by the Chair of the English Department.
  3. Selection Committee to review applications for the award and to identify the top candidates.  
  4. Selection Committee to gather additional information, as deemed necessary and appropriate, about the top candidates, to interview them, and to select the scholarship recipient(s) from among them.
  5. Award to be presented annually on Honors Day to support study the following year at the University of Montevallo. (First award: Honors Day, Spring 1994.)  
  6. Scholarship to be paid from interest earned on the accumulated principal in the fund.
  7. Scholarship to be paid by the semester unless circumstances warrant a lump-sum payment.  
  8. Depending on interest earned, more than one scholarship may be awarded per year.  Recent awards have been in the neighborhood of $500 to $1000.

Head/Cleveland Scholarship Application

 

SOUTHERN PROGRESS SCHOLARSHIP

History and Description: Donated by the Southern Progress Corporation, this scholarship is intended to assist an outstanding English major with communications-related career goals.  Criteria considered include GPA, choice of courses, participation in extra-curricular activities, and the student’s articulation of career goals.  This scholarship is awarded for support of studies during the senior year.  The endowment for this scholarship is split between Graphic Design and English.  The amount of the award may vary depending on the interest earned on the account, but in the recent past has been roughly $500.00 per semester.

 Requirements and Procedures:   
  1. Applicants should be English majors with senior status in the year the award is paid.
  2. Eligible students should submit the following by February 22, 2008, to Professor Eric Vaccarella, Chair of the Scholarship and Awards Committee, care of the Department of English and Foreign Languages:
    • A completed application form (attached)
    • An unofficial copy of your most recent transcript from the Records Office indicating all completed classes and the classes for which you are currently registered
    • A résumé
    • An essay of approximately 600 words that discusses your career goals
  3. The Committee, after consultation with the full English Department, will select the winner.  Consideration will be given to the factors indicated above in the History and Description of the scholarship.
  4. The award will be announced at the Honors Day Ceremony.  It will be paid in two installments during the recipient’s senior year. 
  5. Please address any questions about this award to Professor Eric Vaccarella – Office: Comer 101B, 665-6415.

Southern Progress Scholarship Application

For Adult Returning 

Sarah G. Palmer Adult Returning Student Scholarship – 2008-2009 

History and Description: The Sarah G. Palmer Adult Returning Student Scholarship was established to honor long-time UM English professor Sarah Palmer upon her retirement in July 2000.  For 32 years Mrs. Palmer was a beloved member of the UM community and one of the University’s truly outstanding teachers.  She believed above all in the power of education to change lives.  The scholarship created in her name is intended to promote her vision of the transformative power of education, especially in the lives of “nontraditional” or “returning” adult students.  It will be awarded for the first time for use during the 2008-2009 academic year and thereafter annually on a one-time-only basis to an older student who has returned to school or entered college for the first time.

Requirements and Procedures: 
  1. Applicants should be adult returning students of any major and should have freshman or sophomore status in the year the award is made.
  2. The amount of the award will vary depending upon the interest earned on the account.  The award for the 2008-2009 academic year will be $1,500.  The scholarship will be paid in two equal sums, dispersed at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters and is non-renewable. 
  3. A description of the scholarship and application process will be distributed to eligible students in courses taught by members of the Department of English and Foreign Languages. 
  4. Eligible students will need to submit the following materials by February 8, 2008, to Professor Eric Vaccarella, Chair of the Scholarship Committee of the Department of English and Foreign Languages, Comer 101, Station 6410
  • A completed application form
  • An unofficial copy of your most recent transcript from the Records Office indicating all completed classes and the classes for which you are currently registered
  • A brief résumé
  • A brief biographical narrative (no more than one typed page single-spaced)
  • An essay of between 500-800 words responding to the following prompt:
  “My life changed the day that. . . .” 

(Somewhere in the essay you should touch upon your educational goals.) 

  1. Criteria for selection of award: 
     
    • Academic potential and motivation to complete a bachelor’s degree.
    • Consideration will be given to students who exemplify Sarah Palmer’s vision of the transformative power of education.
  1. The award will be announced at the University Honors Day Ceremony. 
  2. Please address any questions about the application process to Dr. Eric Vaccarella – Office: Comer 101B, 665-6415.

Sarah G. Palmer Application

For Graduate or Transfer

The Alabama Writers’ Conclave Scholarship

(For students with intended enrollment beginning in academic year 2008-2009) 

Description and History: The Alabama Writers’ Conclave has endowed an annual scholarship for an Alabama high school graduate or transferee from an Alabama junior college, entering the University of Montevallo.  The AWC was organized in 1923 at Alabama College (now the University of Montevallo) and is the oldest continuing writers’ organization in the United States.  The AWC Scholarship, established in 1994, seeks to recognize and award excellence in writing among Alabama students.  The scholarship is available to students pursuing all majors and will be applied toward payment of tuition and fees at the University of Montevallo.  Recent awards have been approximately $500, but amounts may vary from year to year.              

Scholarships will be awarded on a competitive basis in three categories, as follows: 

Essay: An expository, analytical, persuasive, or personal essay, limited to no less than three and no more than five pages of double-spaced type.  Submissions will be judged on unity of focus, logical organization, and coherence.                    

Poetry: Up to three poems in any form(s), but limited to thirty lines each.  Submissions will be judged on adherence to the form chosen and labeled by the writer, and by his or her skillful use of language.     

Short Fiction: A narrative limited to 2,500 words or less.  Submissions will be judged on their creation of a convincing fictional world through which, its development of believable characters and plot and its use of concrete details, suggests a significant insight into human experience.

Criteria for applicants:

Applicants must submit ORIGINAL WORK ONLY – no plagiarism or joint authorship.  Applicants may compete in ONLY ONE of the above categories per year and all manuscripts must adhere to the guidelines outlined below:

  • Applicants must complete the official application form and include it with their submission as a cover sheet.  The applicant's name must appear ONLY on the application form – NOT ON THE SUBMISSION ITSELF.
  • Manuscripts must have one-inch margins and be double-spaced, dark type on opaque white paper of good quality.
  • Prose manuscripts must have title on page one, then, starting on page two, the page number and title of the manuscript must appear in the upper right hand corner of successive pages.
  • Each poem, appropriately titled and form stated (Sonnet, Ode, Free verse, etc.) must appear on a separate sheet, with page number and title of manuscript in the upper right hand corner of any second page.
Please contact the indicated AWC or University of Montevallo representative with any questions about manuscript style requirements.  Because no manuscripts will be returned, the applicant and school should retain a copy.

Alabama Writers’ Conclave Application