1693 Scholars Come Into Their Own
A decade after its start, William & Mary’s 1693 Scholars program continues to grow, with gifts from major donors creating a new home for the program and new endowments for future scholarships.
The addition of the Murray House in September 2013 brings a new dimension to the 1693 Scholars program, the university’s leading merit scholarship program. Located at the corner of Jamestown Road and Chandler Court, the house provides an intellectual hub for the program’s undergraduate scholars who gather in the new space for weekly seminars with professors from various disciplines, informal lunches and study sessions — all hallmarks of the enriched experiences of being a 1693 Scholar.
William & Mary biology professor Dan Cristol, director of the 1693 Scholars program, said having a home base has enhanced the group’s cohesiveness. And the addition of a new, full-time associate director, Kim Van Deusen, will increase the frequency of the 1693 Scholars’ special programs and events, many of which now will take place at the Murray House.
“It has changed the energy of the scholars,” Cristol said. “This gives us a real sense of community.”
The home is the latest gift of Jim Murray J.D. ’74, LL.D. ’00, and his wife, Bruce, of Charlottesville, Va., whose leadership gift and pledge in 2003 launched the scholarship program. The first three scholars entered William & Mary in 2004.
Murray, a former rector on the university’s Board of Visitors, views the home as an anchor for the highly competitive scholarship program that will further attract the nation’s top students to William & Mary.
“One of the defining elements of a great university is great students,” Murray said, following a festive ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 26 at the house. “Great students go on to do great things. William & Mary needs to have these types of brilliant young minds here. We expect great things from them.”
Scholars receive full, four-year scholarships covering in-state tuition and room and board. They also are guaranteed the opportunity to study for a semester at Oxford University and also receive $5,000 to support independent, innovative capstone research projects completed under a faculty mentorship team.
Today, the program boasts 19 scholars and 20 alumni. Most of the alumni are completing graduate and professional studies. As the program’s endowments grow and more donors establish scholarships and support the program, the number of scholars selected each year will grow, Cristol said.
Fifteen of the current scholars are funded by the Murrays as Murray 1693 Scholars. Four are Stamps 1693 Leadership Scholars, funded for the second year now by the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation.
Four new endowments have been added to the program: the Estes Family 1693 Scholarship, established by Jean B. ’75 and Robey W. Estes, Jr. ’74; the Watkins Family 1693 Scholarship Endowment, established by Wendy R. and H. Thomas Watkins, III ’74; the Gore 1693 Scholarship Endowment, established by Sally Ives Gore ’56; and the Walter J. and Betty Carter Zable 1693 Scholars Scholarship Quasi-Endowment, established by the estate of the late Walter J. ’37, LL.D. ’78 and Betty Carter Zable ’40. Cristol expects scholars funded by the new endowments to be added in the next two years.
“The Murray House is an amazing place,” said 1693 Scholar Wade D. Hodson ’16 of Newport News, Va. Already, the physics major and mathematics minor has used the house for everything from hunkering down with studies to tie-dyeing group T-shirts with his fellow scholars. “The great thing is that the Murray House can be what we want it to be. There are a lot of possibilities.”
Mark of Excellence
1693 Scholars Come Into Their Own
The addition of the Murray House in September 2013 brings a new dimension to the 1693 Scholars program, the university’s leading merit scholarship program. Located at the corner of Jamestown Road and Chandler Court, the house provides an intellectual hub for the program’s undergraduate scholars who gather in the new space for weekly seminars with professors from various disciplines, informal lunches and study sessions — all hallmarks of the enriched experiences of being a 1693 Scholar.
William & Mary biology professor Dan Cristol, director of the 1693 Scholars program, said having a home base has enhanced the group’s cohesiveness. And the addition of a new, full-time associate director, Kim Van Deusen, will increase the frequency of the 1693 Scholars’ special programs and events, many of which now will take place at the Murray House.
“It has changed the energy of the scholars,” Cristol said. “This gives us a real sense of community.”
The home is the latest gift of Jim Murray J.D. ’74, LL.D. ’00, and his wife, Bruce, of Charlottesville, Va., whose leadership gift and pledge in 2003 launched the scholarship program. The first three scholars entered William & Mary in 2004.
Murray, a former rector on the university’s Board of Visitors, views the home as an anchor for the highly competitive scholarship program that will further attract the nation’s top students to William & Mary.
“One of the defining elements of a great university is great students,” Murray said, following a festive ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 26 at the house. “Great students go on to do great things. William & Mary needs to have these types of brilliant young minds here. We expect great things from them.”
Scholars receive full, four-year scholarships covering in-state tuition and room and board. They also are guaranteed the opportunity to study for a semester at Oxford University and also receive $5,000 to support independent, innovative capstone research projects completed under a faculty mentorship team.
Today, the program boasts 19 scholars and 20 alumni. Most of the alumni are completing graduate and professional studies. As the program’s endowments grow and more donors establish scholarships and support the program, the number of scholars selected each year will grow, Cristol said.
Fifteen of the current scholars are funded by the Murrays as Murray 1693 Scholars. Four are Stamps 1693 Leadership Scholars, funded for the second year now by the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation.
Four new endowments have been added to the program: the Estes Family 1693 Scholarship, established by Jean B. ’75 and Robey W. Estes, Jr. ’74; the Watkins Family 1693 Scholarship Endowment, established by Wendy R. and H. Thomas Watkins, III ’74; the Gore 1693 Scholarship Endowment, established by Sally Ives Gore ’56; and the Walter J. and Betty Carter Zable 1693 Scholars Scholarship Quasi-Endowment, established by the estate of the late Walter J. ’37, LL.D. ’78 and Betty Carter Zable ’40. Cristol expects scholars funded by the new endowments to be added in the next two years.
“The Murray House is an amazing place,” said 1693 Scholar Wade D. Hodson ’16 of Newport News, Va. Already, the physics major and mathematics minor has used the house for everything from hunkering down with studies to tie-dyeing group T-shirts with his fellow scholars. “The great thing is that the Murray House can be what we want it to be. There are a lot of possibilities.”