Scudder Scholarship for Church Vocations

The existence of the Scudder Scholarship for Church Vocations can be attributed to two things—Yarda Scudder’s Lutheran faith and the strong bond between Yarda and her former mother-in-law.

Early in 1997, the JSR Foundation sent CLU an unrestricted gift of $10,000. The foundation was the corporate foundation of the Quaker Oats Corporation, and the initials “JSR” were those of the matriarch of the corporation. Yarda Scudder was the woman who had arranged for the gift. She had previously been married to JSR’s son and had continued a close friendship with her mother-in-law, even after the divorce. At the time, and unbeknownst to CLU, the foundation board was in the process of disbursing its assets prior to closing. Because of Yarda’s Lutheran faith CLU was being considered as a beneficiary; the relationship between CLU and Yarda needed to be cultivated.

Yarda made a successful visit to the campus in 1997 from her home in Redondo Beach. By late fall CLU had received a grant of $100,000 from the JSR Foundation to create an endowed fellowship for graduate students pursuing a degree in marriage and family therapy. That decision reflected Yarda’s own experiences as well as her personal faith. The Scudder Graduate Fellowship was first awarded in 2000 to three women in CLU’s marriage and family therapy program.

After a decade of annual awards to students in the graduate marriage and family therapy program, Yarda (who by this time had relocated to Florida) learned of CLU’s new undergraduate program, theology and Christian leadership. And so she decided to alter and broaden the focus of the scholarship.

Thus, in 2009 the Scudder Scholarship was renamed Scudder Scholarship for Church Vocations and from that point forward was to be made available to students preparing to use their God-given talents to serve the church through their chosen vocation. In addition to proven academic capability, the recipient is to be of either the Christian or Jewish faith. After making these changes to the scholarship criteria Yarda felt confident that the scholarship would more precisely meet her personal goals.