Alumni Scholarship

The Alumni Scholarship has a long history with many variations. It started in 1981 as a fund established with proceeds from the concession stand on the visitors’ side of the football field. The scholarship was first awarded in 1982, and early recipients were to be upper-division students who were both actively involved in campus activities and academically proficient (with a 3.75 grade point average). Scholarship recipients were selected by the alumni association board from a list of qualifying students.

Those award criteria remained intact until 1988, when the alumni association revised the scholarship agreement, making it a “legacy” award for incoming freshmen who were the children of alumni. Extracurricular involvement was still required of recipients, but the grade point average requirement was changed to a 3.0.

Through the years, CLU alumni children and grandchildren began to attend the University, prompting another criterion change in 2010. The “legacy” requirement was expanded to include not just the children but the grandchildren of alumni. The fund’s endowment earnings, which have grown steadily through investments and alumni gifts, are subsidized in part by the University. Recipients are now chosen by the CLU financial aid office rather than by the alumni board. To be selected for the Alumni Scholarship today remains an honor worn proudly by its recipients.