Awards and Scholarships

Annually, the English Department offers one award and two scholarships to English majors:

 

The Ruby Curry Award for Excellence in English goes to the graduating senior English major with the highest overall G.P.A.  The award is announced in April at the University’s annual Awards Day ceremony.

Ruby Cotton Curry (1907-1999)

A.B., Bowling Green State University, 1928
M.A., Western Kentucky University, 1959
M.L.S., Spalding College, 1969.

Mrs. Curry taught English and Latin at Campbellsville College from 1967-1973 and served as coordinator of the Library Science program at Campbellsville College from 1970-1974.

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The L.M. Hamilton Scholarship is usually awarded to a junior English major with financial need who has demonstrated enthusiasm for literary study. The award is announced in April at the University’s annual Awards Day ceremony.

L.M. (Lockard Mitchell) Hamilton (1918-1991)

A.B., Georgetown College
M.A., Georgetown College
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Mr. Hamilton taught English at Campbellsville College from 1959-1986. Campbellsville College students honored him for three successive years as “The Most Popular Professor.” The Alumni Association of Campbellsville College established the L.M. Hamilton Scholarship Fund when Mr. Hamilton retired, and the first recipient, Ms. Sarah Stafford (now Dr. Sarah Stafford Sims), has since achieved the rank of Chair of Campbellsville University’s Division of Humanities.

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The Beth Kemper Endowed Memorial Scholarship is awarded to the winner of an essay contest announced each spring semester. Each contestant must be an English major with at least a 3.0 G.P.A and at least one semester remaining to complete his or her Bachelor’s degree. Essays are judged by a committee of three English Department faculty, and the winner is announced in April at the University’s annual Awards Day ceremony.

The deadline for essay submissions varies but usually falls in early April. Submissions should be accompanied by a very brief cover letter identifying the writer: his or her name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, projected month and year of graduation, and student identification number.

The essay itself should be approximately three typed, double-spaced pages long and should address the writer’s love for the written word, in whatever way the writer chooses. The essay should attempt not to name the writer but should certainly include personal details as needed to enhance the essay. Mrs. Kemper specifically requested that the committee evaluate the essays on the amount of “spark” they contained.

Hard copies of essays should be mailed to:
Campbellsville University
Beth Kemper Memorial Scholarship
Essay Evaluation Committee
Dr. Judith Collins, Chair
1 University Dr., UPO Box 934
Campbellsville, KY 42718

L. Beth Kemper (1967-2006)

B.A., Western Kentucky University, 1989
M.A., Western Kentucky University, 1990
Ph.D., University of Kentucky, 2003

Dr. Beth Kemper taught English at Campbellsville University from 1995-2006. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Kemper, established The Beth Kemper Endowed Memorial Scholarship during the 2006-07 academic year following Dr. Kemper’s sudden death in an automobile accident the previous summer.