Last fall, as part of the More Scripps Campaign, President Lara Tiedens announced the Presidential Scholarship Initiative, with the goal of raising $10 million toward endowment for scholarships by June 30, 2018. In a generous show of support, trustee Carolyn Revelle has gifted $1 million to Scripps to fund this new initiative.
“The opportunity to attend and graduate from an elite college like Scripps should be available to all deserving students, regardless of family finances,” Carolyn says. “My hope is that this gift will enable talented students to enjoy the richness of a Scripps College education. Scholarships are life-changing gifts that can open doors to opportunities for our students.”
Carolyn’s family connection to Scripps can be traced back to the origins of the College. Her mother, Ellen Clark Revelle, was an alumna from the first graduating Class of 1931 and an emerita trustee, serving on the Board for 50 years. Ellen Clark Revelle was also the great niece of Scripps’ founder, Ellen Browning Scripps.
A member of the Scripps Board since 1991, Carolyn has continued her family’s legacy of philanthropic support, staunchly advocating for an increase in campus diversity by providing greater access to a Scripps education. In 2009, in honor of their mother’s lifelong commitment to supporting Scripps, Carolyn and her siblings endowed the Ellen Clark Revelle ’31 Scholarship, affectionately known as the “Nellie.” To date, the Nellie has provided more than $100,000 in support to some of the most high-achieving student leaders with demonstrated financial need. With a gift established early in the More Scripps Campaign, Carolyn created the Fund for Diversity as a way to expand the College’s ability to offer admission to students who may not consider applying to Scripps because of cost.
Carolyn’s recent gift boosts the Presidential Scholarship Initiative to $4.9 million of its $10 million goal in the final months of the More Scripps Campaign. The Presidential Scholarship Initiative was created to ensure that Scripps continues enrolling the most talented, high-achieving students, regardless of their ability to pay. If fully funded, the Initiative will enable the College to provide full grant support for our financially neediest students and to decrease student loan amounts for other students who receive financial aid packages.
There is still more work to be done to ensure that the College’s promise of an immersive, transformative social and academic experience is accessible to students from all financial backgrounds. “This is a pivotal moment in Scripps’s history—an opportunity to meet one of our greatest challenges head on and make a difference for students now and in the future,” says Scripps President Lara Tiedens.
We are grateful to Carolyn Revelle and all those who have supported scholarships for their generosity and commitment to Scripps students. These gifts bring the More Scripps Campaign total to $159 million. Visit our website to learn more about how you can support the Presidential Scholarship Initiative and other campaign priorities.
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