Freedom to Learn Scholarship in Memory of Solly Fine

Patience and persistence helped to make this endowed scholarship happen. The story begins in 1989 when several people started a scholarship out of concern for those who could not afford to pursue their advanced educational goals freely. Fortunately, the group of donors had a champion to lead them, a CLU faculty member with a stellar standing in the educational community. This faculty member, Dr. Carol Genrich, lent her name and her credentials to the project. She also had an understudy for the effort, a young woman from South Africa who knew personally what it was like to be denied the privilege of pursuing her academic dreams. Her name was Carrie.

The immediate goal of the scholarship was to help Carrie through college and into a graduate program in special education. The effort began to bring awareness of the need for the scholarship and, ultimately, to bring the scholarship fund to endowment level. Gifts of every imaginable size came to the University for the Freedom to Learn Scholarship, and the fund grew slowly but surely.

In 1992 the name of the scholarship was changed to include a tribute to Solly Fine, “a gentle, principled man who truly cared and made a difference in the lives of many,” including Carrie. Solly, a South African, had influenced Carrie’s life deeply. The scholarship became her way of honoring him and his reputation for kindness and charity. In the fall of 1992, a gift was received that moved the fund into the endowment category. Concerted effort continued to be made to build up the fund so that it could benefit more students.

The recipient of the Freedom to Learn Scholarship in Memory of Solly Fine must be an international student, preferably from South Africa, who desires to make a difference in the world by making it a better place in which to live and learn. The scholarship was first awarded in 1993. With the increased attention given to experiencing various cultures through higher education, this scholarship has been extremely helpful to international student recruitment.