William E. Blake, Jr. Scholarship Endowment

The William E. Blake, Jr. Scholarship Endowment honors William E. Blake, Ph.D., who taught in the VCU Department of History for 25 years before being named professor emeritus upon his retirement. Blake joined the university, then the Richmond Professional Institute, in 1965. He was named associate professor in 1969 and became a full professor in 1977. This merit-based scholarship is awarded to a full-time advanced undergraduate or graduate student majoring in history with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher and a demonstrated interest in the history of medieval, Renaissance, Reformation and history of Christianity.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

• Applicants must be advanced undergraduate or graduate History majors with a demonstrated interest in Medieval, Renaissance, Reformation periods
• Must have a minimum of 12 hours of History courses at VCU, with 6 hours in upper-division courses
• Must have a minimum 3.0 GPA, with 3.5 in their History courses

REQUIRED MATERIALS AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:

• Applicants should submit a statement of no more than 250 words explaining their interest in Medieval, Renaissance, or Reformation history
• Also, applicants should request and obtain from faculty two letters of recommendation, uploaded to the scholarship portal. These letters should also speak to their interest in Medieval, Renaissance, or Reformation history.