Kenneth B. West Scholarship

The West family (his ex-wife Doreen, twin sons Michael and Mark, and daughter Elizabeth) established the Kenneth B. West Scholarship for UM-Flint history students.  The scholarship honors the memory of Professor Kenneth B. West, who died on April 25, 2001.  Dr. West, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, earned the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from the University of Washington.  Dr. West taught at the University of Saskatchewan-Regina, Canada prior to coming to UM-Flint in August 1966.  His course specialties included American Revolution, American Foreign Policy, American Military History, and the Vietnam War.  He also taught courses in American Business, and American Labor and Mexico.  Dr. West established the Chi Omega Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national honorary society for history students, at UM-Flint in 1977 and served as its faculty advisor for nearly twenty years.  His colleagues recognized him for his commitment, wisdom, gentle and thoughtful demeanor, and love of the university and the History Department.  His colleagues and students admired his caring nature, scholarly activity, fairness and dry wit.  He was a true teacher and scholar who enriched the lives of all those with whom he came in contact.

Scholarship Guidelines

1. The scholarship is available to juniors or seniors who are majoring in History at UM-Flint.

2. Applicants must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA.

3. Scholarships will be applied directly to the recipients' tuition accounts.

4. The selection committee will be comprised of no fewer than three History Department faculty members.

5. The Office of Development will provide the donor a yearly scholarship accounting report, and an acknowledgment letter from the West Scholar.

Richard Gilder Scholarship Fund

This scholarship is established by the Rachor Family Foundation, Ltd., in honor of Wall Street stockbroker, Richard Gilder.  A Yale graduate, he is a founding member and continuing trustee of the Central Park Conservancy.  He is also a Trustee Emeritus and former Chairman of the Manhattan Institute, Trustee of the American Museum of Natural History, School Choice Scholarship Foundation, Pierpoint Morgan Library, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, inc., Lincoln and Soldiers Institute of Gettysburg College, and the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture at Williamsburg.  With long-time friend Lewis Lehrman, Richard Gilder has created the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History, which has, perhaps, the most significant private collection of American historical documents.  The Institute also sponsors history schools and lectures to the public, holds summer seminars for teachers, creates traveling exhibitions, and has just recently opened the Gilder-Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition at Yale.  Richard Gilder is also co-founder of the Lincoln Prize and the Frederick Douglas Book Award.  He is the recipient of honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Gettysburg College and St. John's University.  Mr. Gilder is a life-long resident of New York City.

Scholarship Guidelines:

1. The Richard Gilder Scholarship is intended for UM-Flint history majors who have completed a minimum of 60 credit hours.

2. Applicants must have a minimum of a 3.4 grade point average.

3. Applicants must have a minimum 3.5 grade point average in history courses, and must complete HIS 220, 221 (US survey courses), and must complete at least three U.S. history courses, with two of them in the 300 level or above.

4. Preference will be given to students whose coursework indicates an emphasis on American history and whose career goals include pursuing a profession that focuses on American history (teaching, archiving, museum work, ect.)

5. Scholarships will be applied directly to the recipients' tuition accounts.

6. The scholarship selection committee will be comprised of the department chair and the two most senior Americanists. If other Americanists wish to serve, they can do so with the permission of the department chair.

Richard Gilder Merit Scholarship

This scholarship is established by the Rachor Family Foundation, Ltd., in honor of Wall Street stockbroker, Richard Gilder. A fifth generation New Yorker, Richard Gilder graduated from Mount Hermon School in 1950, and like his father, received a bachelor's degree from Yale (Class of '54). A temporary job on Wall Street led to fifty years in the the investment business. In 1968, he departed from A. G. Becker & Co., a venerable Chicago firm, to start his own brokerage company, now known as Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co., LLC.

Mr. Gilder's love of his home town became the focus of his outside activities. In 1971, he pioneered the renovation of Central Park and, in 1978, became a founding and continuing trustee of the Central Park Conservancy; participated in the transformation of the Hayden Planetarium, and of its parent, the American Museum of Natural History, into the world class institutions they have become; and, in 2003 he and his partner in American History, Lewis Lehrman, joined the Board of the New-York Historical Society, where Mr. Gilder serves as co-chairman. Earlier, he and Mr. Lehrman created the Gilder Lehrman Collection and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to promote the love and study of American History, now with teaching programs in fifty states, and the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition at Yale. Together they are founders and sponsors of the Lincoln Prize, the Frederick Douglass Book Award, and co-sponsors of the George Washington Book Prize. Mr. Gilder is a trustee of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the American Museum of Natural History and is co-chairman and co-founder of the Club for Growth.

Scholarship Guidelines:

1. The Richard Gilder Merit Scholarship is intended for juniors and seniors majoring in history.
2. Applicants must have a minimum 3.4 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale.
3. Applicants must have a minimum 3.5 grade point average in history courses and complete History 220 and 221 by the time they apply for the scholarship. In addition, the applicant must have completed or be enrolled in at least three U.S.. History courses, with two of them at the 300 level or above.
4. Preference will be given to students whose coursework indicates an emphasis on American History and whose career goals include pursuing a profession that focuses on American History (teaching, archiving, museum work, etc.).
5. Scholarship will be applied directly to the recipient's tuition account.
6. The scholarship selection committee will be comprised of three members of the University of Michigan-Flint History Department, one of whom must be an Americanist.

Colonel T.B.W. Stockton Scholarship

North and Florence Stockton, descendents of T.B.W. Stockton, established the Colonel T.B.W. Stockton Scholarship for University of Michigan - Flint students majoring in History or graduate students enrolled in the MLS Program in American Culture. Colonel T.B.W. Stockton was a West Point graduate and fought in both the Civil War and the Mexican War. He resigned from the Army when the Civil War ended and returned to Flint in 1863 where he became an engineer and businessman. He married Maria Smith, who was the youngest daughter of Jacob Smith, one of the first fur-trading settlers to come to Flint. Colonel Stockton and his wife had considerable influence on the early economic, physical, and cultural development of the Flint community. In 1872, he built a large brick home at the edge of Flint, which he called "Spring Grove." He also donated about 20 acres of his property to build the Michigan School of the Deaf at W. Court Street and Miller Road. Colonel Stockton died in 1890 at the age of 85 in Flint.

Scholarship Guidelines:

1. Applicants must have a 3.0 GPA and have completed at least 50 credit hours, and have a declared major in History or be graduate students enrolled in the Master of Liberal Studies in American Culture.

2. Financial need is a consideration in awarding the scholarship.

3. The selection committee will be comprised of the department chair and two faculty members from the History Department, and a representative from the MLS Program.

4. Scholarship awards will be applied directly to the student's tuition account.