CARMEN DURLAN
Assistant Campus Editor
The eight-semester scholarships awarded by BYU to incoming freshmen will be replaced with Heritage Scholarships beginning the 1997-98 school year.
With the exception of the Heritage Scholarship named after the current president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, all the Heritage Scholarships will be named after deceased members of the LDS Church “as an attempt to honor the academic heritage of the university and the church and encourage (students) to contribute to that legacy,” said Steve Hill, private scholarship coordinator and member of the Heritage Scholarship Program committee.
The Scholarship Office invites the campus community to help name the Heritage Scholarships. Those interested have until Nov. 15 to submit a one-page recommendation on a deceased LDS Church member who has made significant contribution to the church or the world. Submissions can be turned in at the Scholarship Office in A-41 ASB or sent by e-mail to .
In the past, BYU awarded three types of eight-semester scholarships: the Gordon B. Hinckley Presidential, National Merit and Trustee Scholarships, Hill said.
The purpose of the Heritage Scholarship Program is to provide service and spiritual opportunities and facilitate meaningful relationships between students and faculty mentors, Hill said.
“The mentors will be advisers to the scholarship societies and will work with them as an organization,” said Sue DeMartini, director of scholarships and head of the committee for the Heritage Scholarship Program.
“We hope that the societies will build a sense of community among the scholars. One of the things we want to convey is this concept of investment, that the university is investing in them in the form of a scholarship,” she said.
“The students will take an active role in shaping the direction and goals of the society, and the advisers are there to encourage, counsel and support the organization,” DeMartini said. “We expect students to develop their talents and then use those talents to benefit the university community. And the scholarships will be one of the vehicles to do that.”
Criteria used to award all Heritage Scholarships are religious commitment, character, academic excellence, service to others and passion for life.
The Undergraduate Scholarship Committee awarded about 400 eight-semester scholarships last year and anticipates awarding the same number next year, DeMartini said.
