Students and scholarship donors meet and mingle

In April, donors and students gathered at Hollins for the annual scholarship luncheon. Alumnae and friends traveled from various cities in Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia to meet students who are recipients of endowed scholarships. The luncheon also provided an opportunity for students to hear stories about loved ones who have been honored by the creation of a named endowed scholarship and to learn firsthand about how Hollins has been a transformative experience for generations of women.

Alumnae and friends of the university have established more than 270 named endowed scholarships, with a total value of $48 million. Endowing a scholarship provides a stream of financial support in perpetuity and is often the determining factor in a student’s decision to choose Hollins. Merit- and need-based scholarship support is among Hollins’ greatest philanthropic needs.

President Gray welcomed first-time attendees Louis and Suzanne Blair, along with Patrick Kennerly (center), the first recipient of the Brandon DuMonde Scholarship in Playwriting, which was created by the Blairs. Kennerly is a student in the certificate program in new play directing. Meredith Levy ’12 (far right) is a current student in the M.F.A. in playwriting program (read more about Levy).

Business major Lucy Smith ’17, one of the student speakers during the lunch, told the audience that “without scholarship support, my dream of attending Hollins would not have come to life.”

Mary “Polly” Barksdale Garbee ’59 (right) and her husband, Bob, with President Gray. The Garbees have established four endowed scholarships. They received special recognition for having attended all but one of the scholarship luncheons.

Photos: Sharon Meador

New scholarship supports English majors

English major Amanda Chase Madar ’66 has created the Amanda Chase Madar Endowed Scholarship Fund for Students of English in honor of her 50th reunion. The scholarship will provide financial assistance to undergraduate English majors. Madar is also serving on her class’s reunion gifts committee.

Bioengineer visit sponsored by The Secular Society

The Secular Society established the Hollins Visitor Program in 2015 with two purposes: to enrich the experience of students and faculty; and to expose accomplished women visitors to the benefits of a women’s education—especially the benefits offered by Hollins.

Linda Powers, Thomas R. Brown Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Arizona and CEO of Sonoran Analytical Instruments and Diagnostics, was the program’s latest visitor. Powers spent two days in April with students, sharing her expertise in engineering, physics, chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, medicine, and entrepreneurship in lectures and classroom sessions.