A scholarship for an exceptional student, offering full tuition for up to four years. (offered in even-numbered years)
Selection
The Davis Fellowship, established by Norwood and Marguerite Davis, is a full-tuition scholarship and is awarded every other year [next offered in 2020] to one member of the incoming class matriculating at Hampden-Sydney College. In his high school years, the Davis Fellow will have demonstrated intellectual competence, energy, competitive instincts, and passion in an area of special interest-whether that be in intellectual achievements, the arts, the sciences, student leadership positions, extracurricular activities, civic affairs, community service, or other endeavors. The Davis Fellow will have the drive and tenacity to endure hardship in pursuit of personal goals, and will be a competitor and risk-taker. Finally, he will have shown compassion for those around him, especially for those with whom he lives and works. In college and after, he will use the skills and standards of his liberal education to reach high levels of performance and leadership in society. The Davis Fellowship recognizes potential, as identified by a teacher, minister, or coach, more than the traditional measures of success, which may have been limited by cultural, environmental, family, or financial circumstances.
Benefits
The Davis Fellow will receive grants for full tuition for four years, as long as he continues to make satisfactory progress as a full-time student at the College, and maintains a well-integrated role in Hampden- Sydney's academic, cultural, and extra-curricular life.
The Program
A Davis Fellow is expected to identify his passion and to use his undergraduate experience at Hampden-Sydney College as a means of pursuing that passion. The Davis Fellow will meet at least once each semester with the program coordinator to discuss academic and co-curricular pursuits and to discuss his status in relation to the requirements of the Fellowship. Each semester, all Davis Fellows will attend a dinner meeting to discuss the program with other Fellows and with College faculty and staff.
Davis Fellows are expected to become leaders on campus--whether that be in the classroom, on the playing field, in community affairs, in student government, or in other areas of campus life--and will manifest leadership beyond the gates of the campus after graduation.
Davis Fellows will:
During their First Year:
- have the opportunity to participate in the Wilson Center Freshman Leadership Program.
During their Second and Third Year:
- have the opportunity to be a member of the President's Men, the official ambassadors of the President and representatives of the College.
- have the opportunity for a summer-long program of study abroad or internship.
- have the opportunity to enroll in the James Madison Leadership Certificate Program under the auspices of the Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest
- have the opportunity to participate in the year-long leadership development course sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs.
- have the opportunity to join the President's Leadership Council.
During their Fourth Year:
- be invited to have dinner with the distinguished Visiting Fellow sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.
- be invited to participate in the annual Davis Fellows activities including meetings with federal, state, and local leaders.
Following graduation, Davis Fellows will be invited to return to the campus periodically, to share their experiences with candidates for the Davis Fellowship, with current Fellows and other students, and to build a network of alumni dedicated to leadership with passion and integrity in all walks of life.