Alumni Scholarships

The Elizabeth Eckford Scholarship for Peace and Justice Studies is intended to provide annual scholarship support for deserving Knox women students who have demonstrated significant financial need to meet the expenses of their education and maintained Knox academic standards.

First preference will be given to women students of color. Second preference will be given to any women students who have met the aforementioned criteria.

Scholarship Guidelines

The Elizabeth Eckford Scholarship is an award of $2,500 per year selectee with individual 4-year commitment award of $10,000, providing criteria are met. The Charles A. Becker Foundation is making a minimum 10-year commitment to support the scholarship. It will be available to its first recipients during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Notification

The selection of scholarship recipient(s) will be made by the Knox College Office of Student Financial Services in consultation with Ms. Eckford until she is no longer able or willing to participate.

Scholarship recipients are awarded in October. The scholarship will be established as an annual renewal scholarship for incoming freshman students while continuing to award previous recipients for up to years total, providing full-time undergraduate enrollment is sustained.

About Elizabeth Eckford '63

As a member of the Little Rock Nine, which became globally recognized for their integration efforts into Arkansas’ Little Rock High School in 1957, Elizabeth, then 15 years old, became the subject of, what Life Magazine calls, "One of The 100 Most Important Photos Ever". The photo of her caught the world’s attention in 1957, and her role in it, as a result, became infamous. Yet her personal story and life trajectory is far from that infamy, as an individual who overcame odds, and set out to become a beacon of hope and equality for all young people.

Scholarships are often introduced in memoriam to an individual to whom their name is associated. It is an honor to create this scholarship while Ms. Eckford can also participate in it. Her request is for it to benefit Knox College students, as a living legacy to her courage and contributions, and her gratitude for also having been given an entry scholarship to Knox College after completing high school. Ms. Eckford was presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from Knox College in 2018.

Read more about her and her degree.