Before graduating, astrophysics major Wendell Roberson ’18 conducted a research project titled, “Numerical Simulations of the Interaction Between Planets and Protoplanetary Disks.”

“I studied how planets that are roughly the size of Earth migrate within a gaseous disk,” says Roberson. “We did this through simulations using a code that is written to help simulate these developments.”

The “we” includes his faculty adviser, Ana Uribe, but he might also be referring to Horatio Hughes ’05 (that’s 1905) – who taught chemistry and physics at the College from 1923 to 1950 – given that his eponymous scholarship covered the cost of Roberson’s research and other expenses.

“The scholarship really helped put my mind at ease,” says Roberson. “You want to make sure you have done everything you needed to do to ensure that all of the money you need is there for the year, and, with the scholarship, I knew I was covered in some areas.”

Hughes’ daughter Patricia Hughes Farrow ’48 and her husband, Thomas Ferguson Farrow ’49 (the two met while at CofC) established the Horatio Hughes Memorial Scholarship in 2011 through a charitable trust that began funding scholarships after both had passed away. The trust funds about $30,000 in scholarships for 10-15 science students a year, along with a handful of research stipends, like Roberson’s.

Read more about this scholarship.

Most anyone in South Carolina with the slightest interest in dance would recognize the name Robert Ivey. After all, for decades, the late local legend attached to that name was a beloved dancer, choreographer, instructor and College of Charleston professor. In each of those roles, he lifted others up, often in every sense of the word. In doing so, Ivey was able to share with them the moving power of dance.

In 2017, the College of Charleston’s Robert Ivey Scholarship in Dance became fully endowed thanks to a reinvigorated effort by friends and family. Among those leading the philanthropic charge were Matthew Kennedy ’01, a former student of Ivey while on a dance scholarship at the College, and adjunct professor Eliza Ingle, a close colleague of Ivey.

Because of these efforts, which doubled the fund, the scholarship is primed to ensure that others are able to follow in Ivey’s path and similarly uplift others.

“He was one of the first people to teach dance at the College,” says Todd McNerney, associate dean of the School of the Arts, who attributes Ivey as being instrumental in starting the dance program at the College.

Ivey began teaching at the College in the early 1980s and became a full-time professor in 1993. He taught dance technique in ballet and modern 20th-century dance, introduction to theater, history of dance, choreography, dance ensemble and the popular Maymester course on the Spoleto Festival.

Learn more about the scholarship.

If there is a clear constant for James Mulvaney and his family, it may likely be a commitment to education. After all, the Mulvaneys count among their ranks career educators, such as James’ wife Carol and his daughter Christine, and other family members, like his late father William and son Patrick, who have demonstrated a deep interest in teaching those around them.

At the College of Charleston, the Mulvaney Family has made a vested commitment to furthering the education field by way of their philanthropy. In 2016, they established the William and James Mulvaney Family Endowed Scholarship to support a declared education major at the College of Charleston in the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance.

James Mulvaney first came to appreciate the importance of education from his father, who is recognized in the scholarship’s name.

Middle grades education major Rodrick Bellamy is a recipient of the Mulvaney Scholarship.

A renowned urologist in Cincinnati, William Mulvaney developed two drugs to dissolve kidney stones. He then placed the proceeds from that work in a charitable trust, which is managed by James Mulvaney and his siblings. The endowed scholarship at the College of Charleston was created with a $150,000 donation from the trust.

“He felt that everyone should be treated the same and have the same opportunities,” says James Mulvaney of his father, recalling how as a child he had observed the physician treating everyone at the hospital with equal respect.

William Mulvaney was also pioneering in his championing of diversity, often breaking new ground in his hiring of minorities in the Ohio medical community. In light of this, the scholarship endeavors to provide support in particular to minority, male undergraduate students at the College who are majoring in middle grades education.

Learn more about scholarship.