Society Scholarship Partners Increase to 665

A total of 665 four-year college and universities now offer transfer scholarships reserved exclusively for Phi Theta Kappa members, the largest number in the Society's history. These scholarships are valued in excess of $36 million annually.

Phi Theta Kappa's designated transfer scholarships have helped thousands of Society members complete their baccalaureate degrees over the past 32 years. The program began in 1975, when the first-ever designated transfer scholarship for a Phi Theta Kappa member was established at Florida Atlantic University.

Dr. Jack Guistwhite, then Director of Inter-Institutional Relations at FAU, originated the concept of a transfer scholarship for Phi Theta Kappa members. Other senior institutions were quick to follow FAU's lead.

Between 1975 and 1985, approximately 30 colleges and universities added Phi Theta Kappa transfer scholarships to their financial aid programs. When Rod Risley became Society Executive Director in 1985, he immediately began efforts to increase the number of transfer scholarships, and within five years, more than 100 scholarships had been added.

Scholarship development continues to be a priority today, and some 36 new scholarships have been established during 2007.

Vanessa Coleman, a Society member from Montgomery College in Maryland, is attending Cornell University on a Phi Theta Kappa scholarship.

"I am in the School of Human Ecology, studying human biology, health and society as my major. I am also pursuing a global health minor," Coleman said. "My educational plans are to continue with my bachelor's degree and then go on to medical school. I hope to become a global health physician with a particular emphasis on practicing reconstructive and plastic surgery in developing nations," she continued. "I am very thankful for this scholarship."

Phi Theta Kappa's Guistwhite Scholarships, 20 annual awards of $5,000 each, funded by the Society, are named in honor of Dr. Guistwhite and his wife Margaret, to honor their commitment to community college students.

In addition to Cornell, other Ivy League schools offering Phi Theta Kappa transfer scholarships include Columbia, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. Scholarships are available in all 50 states of the United States, at universities in Canada and Great Britain and at online institutions.

For a complete list of all transfer scholarships, including amounts, deadlines, contact information for admissions personnel and links to participating schools, visit the eScholarship Directory.

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