The Gabriel Scholars Program

This scholarship was created under § 23.1-615.1 of the Code of Virginia and under guidance provided by the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV). Virginia Commonwealth University offers a scholarship to be awarded to eligible undergraduate students who demonstrate a personal and historic connection to enslavement in Virginia or who demonstrates membership in a community that continues to experience the negative legacy of enslavement in Richmond.

Eligibility Criteria
According to SCHEV guidance, to be eligible for the scholarship, a student must:
• Be a full-time undergraduate student eligible for need-based financial aid as determined by the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) who will be enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University for the 2025-26 academic year, is in good academic standing, and otherwise meets the criteria established in Article III of the guidelines PDF provided by the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV)
• Be a Virginia resident as defined by Virginia Code § 23.1-502 through § 23.1-505 § 23.1-505
• Intend to begin, continue, or complete education at Virginia Commonwealth University
• Demonstrate a personal and historical connection to enslavement in Virginia or be a member
of a community that has experienced the negative legacy born out of the institution of slavery

Definitions for the purpose of this scholarship (from SCHEV):
An “enslaved individual,” in the historical context, is any person who was deemed property of the institution or was forbidden to quit their service for another person or corporate entity. An enslaved individual, in the historical context, may have been placed under this condition of servitude due to indebtedness, military defeat, having a parent who was enslaved, and in most cases of Native Americans and Africans through forcible
removal from their native community, or forced in-place enslavement of entire communities.
“Experiencing the negative legacy of enslavement” means social and economic conditions born out of the institution of slavery which negatively impact an individual’s ability to fairly achieve in society. This negative legacy may include, but is not limited to, economic inequality and limited access to communal networks of assistance and technology and inadequate funding of K-12 education.