Scholarship Awards

A number of Foreign Language Department Scholarships are awarded each year.
Qualified students are invited to apply for the following scholarships through the Department of Foreign Languages.
We offer four scholarships and two awards each year to meritorious students in recognition of their achievements in the study of foreign languages.
The application form for the four scholarships is available below to download, fill in and submit to the Department of Foreign Languages, Main Hall 109. (610) 436-2700.

THE MARY-ANN REISS FOREIGN STUDIES AWARD

Mary-Ann Reiss was an Assistant Professor in the WCU Department of Foreign Languages, 1975-1992, teaching German and Spanish, and supervising student teachers. The author of many articles, reviews, and papers on language learning and literature, she added this generous gift to her years of service as a kind colleague and dynamic teacher. The Mary-Ann Reiss Foreign Studies Award is issued from a trust fund established by Mary-Ann Reiss, and awarded yearly to one or two students. Financial need may be considered, but focus is on the requirements below.

Recipient requirements:

(1) Candidate must be foreign language major planning to participate in a Study Abroad language program, with preference given to those planning a career in teaching.
(2) Personal Qualities: responsibility, motivation, maturity, seriousness of purpose.
(3) Minimum 3.0 GPA, at least 3.25 in the major or minor.

This scholarship was established in honor of German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), the founder of Plant Geography and the preeminent scholar of his time. He explored much of Latin America, collecting and cataloging the flora of the New World.

Recipient requirements:
The recipient must be an outstanding undergraduate foreign language major planning to participate in a Study Abroad language program.

This scholarship was established in 2006 by Roberto Mejia, an Adjunct faculty member at West Chester University, to honor the cultural heritage of his family. Roberto Mejia was born in Medellin, Colombia, and moved to the United States as a child. Taking pride in his roots and realizing the many advantages of being bilingual, he hopes this scholarship will encourage Spanish majors and minors to become more proficient in the language and culturally aware by participating in a Study Abroad program in a Spanish-speaking country.

Recipient requirements:

1) Candidates should be Spanish majors or minors.
2) Candidates must have at least a 3.00 GPA.
3) Candidates must participate in a bona fide study abroad language program
(with preference to those going on the WCU/USD program in Guadalajara, Mexico).

Dr. Alfred D. Roberts, whom this award honors, received his undergraduate degree in Modern Languages from Ursinus College in 1949 as Valedictorian of his class. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in French from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Roberts served as professor of Foreign Languages at WCU (1959-1988), founding the Foreign Language Department at WCU, and serving as chairperson (1962-1974). In addition, Dr. Roberts founded the Junior Year Abroad program in 1963, and was president of the Faculty Senate (1969-1970).

Recipient requirements:

1) The recipient must be an outstanding foreign language student, who may or may not be a foreign language major or minor.
2) Candidates must have a GPA of 3.00 or higher.
3) Candidates must participate in a bona fide study abroad language program.

The following Department of Foreign Languages awards are issued each year to outstanding students in the languages noted below. The decisions on these two awards are made independently by the appropriate faculty.
STUDENTS SHOULD NOT APPLY FOR THE TWO AWARDS DESCRIBED BELOW.

THE LOMBARDI-PETERS AWARD

The award honors the memory of Ronald Lombardi, professor of Italian and Spanish, and Amalia Peters, professor of Spanish. In their collaboration on scholarly and pedagogical endeavors they exemplified the qualities of excellence and professionalism for which WCU and the Department of Foreign Languages are known.
The Lombardi-Peters Award is conferred on students of Italian and/or Spanish who have demonstrated outstanding ability through course work and/or service. Recipients are nominated and selected by the Spanish and Italian language faculty, based on their GPA, grades in the major or minor, and an assessment of how they exemplify the best student of the year in Spanish and/or Italian.

Dr. Ethel M. Staley taught French at WCU from 1930 to 1952. Each year the French Language section selects an outstanding student to receive an Ethel M. Staley cash award.