University of Richmond Launches Scholars Program in Honor of Noted Civil Rights Attorney Oliver Hill
October 5, 2005
The University of Richmond has named a new undergraduate scholars program in honor of Oliver W. Hill Sr., the Richmond attorney who served on the legal team that successfully argued against public school segregation before the Supreme Court in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.
Beginning fall 2006, 15 students a year who have been awarded full-tuition scholarships as Richmond Scholars will be invited to become Oliver Hill Scholars. Candidates of all racial and ethnic backgrounds will be eligible to apply.
Oliver Hill Scholars will receive a one-time grant of $3,000 for a special scholarly experience as an undergraduate and an additional $1,000 a year grant for participating in special program activities exploring the ongoing effort of African Americans to attain social justice and meet other challenges presented by American life.
A special ceremony Oct. 23 at the university will honor Hill and celebrate his life as a role model for young people.
“Oliver Hill’s entire career has been devoted to the area of civil rights, in particular against segregation, with a focus on what we as humans share in common,” said Joe Kent, the university’s associate provost. “The objectives of the program are academic success at a high level, appreciation of cultural heritage, work for social justice and celebration of diversity while seeking to understand commonalities in human experience.”
The program also will provide Hill Scholars with mentors who are role models from the university and central Virginia communities. In addition, scholars will participate in special field trips to historical and culturally important sites in the region. Significant, but not exclusive, focus of the programming will be on African American history and social issues.
Oliver Hill Scholars are an important part of the new Richmond Scholars program, which will provide 50 full-tuition scholarships annually to first-year students beginning fall 2006. All Richmond Scholars will be assigned a carefully selected faculty mentor, given priority course registration and housing selection, and provided complimentary tickets to selected cultural events at the Modlin Center for the Arts.
Richmond Scholars will be selected primarily for outstanding scholarship, but also for demonstrating a strong desire to be at the forefront of creating and discovering new knowledge and exercising leadership in service to society; broad world view; excitement about learning from a diverse community of scholars; recognition of the importance of personal integrity and ethical decision-making; enthusiastic pursuit of self-improvement; and talent for artistic expression.
Application for admission to both the Richmond Scholars program and the university must be made by Dec. 15, using the Common Application and the Common Application Supplement forms. Additional information about the Richmond Scholars and other financial aid programs, as well as application forms, is available on the university’s Web site at www.richmond.edu/prospective/financial/.