Virginia Peninsula Rotary - Club Projects - The Peninsula Rotary Club Endowed Scholarship Fund

Our scholarship fund at CNU has touched more students than just the ones seen in the photos above. The amount of the award depends on circumstances, but as the fund stands today a year's scholarship can be valued at up to $10,000.00. Contributions to the fund from club members and other interested parties are one way of increasing the value of the scholarship.

On December 7, 1983, the Peninsula Rotary Club established a scholarship at Christopher Newport College with an initial gift of $1,000 and a pledge to provide additional gifts over a six year period. The Fund became an endowment on July 1, 1990 with a corpus of $ 17, 875. Over the years to come the endowment grew thanks to donations from Rotarians and previous scholarship recipients and a very significant donation of $ 50,000 from the estate of Martin Gracey, a longstanding member of the Peninsula Rotary Club.

During these years, significant changes were occurring at the College, which became Christopher Newport University. Among those changes was the establishment of the Christopher Newport University Educational Foundation, which assumed the authority for receiving all financial gifts to the University. Because of these changes, in 2007 an extensive review of the Fund’s resources and administrative procedures was done. As a result of this study, the plan document was re-written to make the Fund compatible with standard University and Foundation procedures.

This scholarship is now a merit based award given to a student at any level who demonstrates excellent academic achievement combined with a commitment to Rotary ideals.

Although the Peninsula Rotary Club established and continues to support this scholarship, the club does not choose the students who will receive the scholarship, nor does it influence the choice. If you are a student interested in applying for this scholarship, contact the Christopher Newport University Office of Financial Aid at (757) 594-7170, or http://financialaid.cnu.edu/.

To make a donation to the fund, contact Keith Roots by telephone at (757) 594-7713 or by e-mail at keith.roots@cnu.edu regarding Foundation Account # 805-1207.