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Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History, which has, perhaps, the most significant private collection of American historical documents.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 American History Scholarship

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 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.

In addition to honorary degrees from Gettysburg College, St. John's University, Lincoln College, and Yale University, he is a recipient of the Yale Medal and the 2005 National Medal of Humanities.

Mr. Gilder is married to actor and teacher Lois Chiles. He has four children and seven grandchildren.

Scholarship Guidelines:

1. The Richard Gilder American History Scholarship will provide funding to a University of Michigan - Flint student who intends to complete the Teacher's Certification Program in History.

2. The recipient must be "on fire" about American History and a "true believer" in the value of the study of American History whose career goal is to become an American History teacher.

3. The recipient must have and maintain a minimum 2.75 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale while a student at the University of Michigan - Flint for continued receipt of scholarship funds.

4. The recipient must have and maintain a minimum 3.25 grade point average in history courses while a student at the University of Michigan - Flint for continued receipt of scholarship funds.

5. Preference will be given to residents of Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston or Shiawassee Counties.

6. The Richard Gilder American History Scholarship will cover the recipient's tuition, all fees and books needed to complete the junior and senior years at the University of Michigan - Flint for a maximum of four years to obtain the Teacher's Certificate in History at the University of Michigan - Flint.

7. If the recipient is not immediately accepted into the Teacher's Certification Program in History due to lack of TCP prerequisites, he or she has one year to complete the program prerequisites and gain admittance to the program before losing eligibility for this scholarship.  After receiving the scholarship for one year, the student must be accepted into the Teacher's Certification Program in History in order to remain eligible for this scholarship.

8. Scholarship funds are to be used solely toward the courses required to obtain the Teacher's Certification in History, and the scholarship recipient will be assessed each year prior to award to determine if he or she is satisfactorily completing the courses required by the program.

9. The scholarship selection committee will be comprised of a minimum of three members of the 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.

Wyatt Incentive Scholarship

This scholarship is established by the Dorothea Wyatt endowment.  Professor Dorothea Wyatt was one of the founding faculty members of the University of Michigan-Flint.  She was a member of the History Department from 1956 to 1975.  She became the first Chair of the History Department, Secretary to the Faculty and was actively involved in various community organizations.  She was a scholar of American history and taught several courses on US history, including Civil War.  Her major publication was Julia Tutwiler and Social Progress in Alabama. This scholarship is renewable for the second year.

Scholarship Guidelines:

1. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 from high school/transfer institution.

2. Applicants must be a declared history major upon acceptance at University of Michigan-Flint.

3. Applicants must complete at least 12 credits in history in the first year of the scholarship.

4. Scholarships will be applied directly to the recipients' tuition account for the fall and winter semesters. 

5. The Scholarship Selection Committee will be comprised of no fewer than three faculty members from the History Department. 

For scholarship extension to the second year:

1. Completion of 12 credits in history at University of Michigan-Flint during the first year with an overall GPA of 2.75 or higher and a GPA of 3.0 or higher in history courses at University of Michigan-Flint.

2. Applicants must be a declared history major and take at least 6 credits in history in the second year of scholarship.

Wyatt Merit Scholarship

This scholarship is established by the Dorothea Wyatt endowment.  Professor Dorothea Wyatt was one of the founding faculty members of the University of Michigan-Flint.  She was a member of the History Department from 1956 to 1975.  She became the first Chair of the History Department, Secretary to the Faculty and was actively involved in various community organizations.  She was a scholar of American history and taught several courses on US history, including Civil War.  Her major publication was Julia Tutwiler and Social Progress in Alabama.  The Wyatt Merit Scholarship is renewable for a second year.

Scholarship Guidelines:

1. Applicants must be a history major attending the University of Michigan-Flint as a full-time student.

2. Applicants must have a minimum of 55 credit hours, out of which 15 credit hours must be history courses taken at the University of Michigan-Flint.

3. Applicants must have a minimum of a 3.1 grade point average.

4. Applicants must have a minimum of a 3.3 grade point average in history courses.

5. Scholarships will be applied directly to the recipients' tuition account.  Scholarships will apply to the fall and winter semesters.

6. The scholarship selection committee will be comprised of no fewer than three faculty members from the History Department.

For scholarship extension to a second year:

1. Applicants must be a history major attending University of Michigan-Flint as a full-time student.

2. Applicants must have a minimum of a 3.1 grade point average.

3. Applicants must have a minimum of a 3.3 grade point average in history courses.