Back to the Main PageGary Wiggins asked the IU Archives to search for the earliest evidence of the Residence Scholarship Program. The following comes from the minutes of the IU Board of Trustees meeting for April 20, 1951, page 3:
Establishment of Residence Scholarships for Needy Undergraduates of High Scholastic Rating
3.(h) Mr. Franklin presented the recommendation of a plan to establish undergraduate scholarships to be known as Residence Scholarships, whereby top-quality students who otherwise cannot afford to attend the University may, by sufficient work, eliminate the cost of room and board, or reduce it materially. Dormitories, such as Rogers K and L for men, and Hickory and Linden for women, would be set up in which the students furnish their own bedding and do their own cleaning. A special dining room in Smithwood Dining Hall will be established in which an adequate but simple diet will be served, and each student will assist for about five hours per week in washing dishes and serving. Under this arrangement they will pay 48 cents per day for housing and $1.00 per day for board. In addition, employment opportunities will be available to these students for work on and off campus, so that many will have the income to pay all room and board.
These Residence Scholarships are for graduates of Indiana high schools, to be awarded and renewed on the basis of scholarship first, and the second consideration is unquestioned need of such aid. It is believed that no stigma will attach to the program, and it is hoped that the designation "Residence Scholar" will soon, through proper publicity and administration, be considered as a distinct honor.
The Board concurred in authorizing the Residence Scholarships to be established beginning in the first semester 1951-52, along the lines indicated above. The program will be administered by the Junior Division until the scholarship administration has been revised, after which it will be handled by the Scholarship Office.
The program still exists, as part of the IU Honors College. Students receive a $1500 reduction in room/board costs in return for minimal dorm jobs (compared with ours). Students are housed in Ashton Center (the old GRC). A 3.0 average is required to maintain status, compared to 2.8 for us. There is no mention of holding a job or a means test. If someone has access to IU bulletins from the 1950s, you might find out when the program began (likely in the early 1950s).
Here is what the IU website has to say about the current program:
If you want to pursue academic excellence, have fun with like-minded individuals, and get all that plus a reduced room rate, Residence Scholars is for you. It's a cooperative environment where motivated students share academic interests and participate in a wide variety of educational cultural, social, and service programs. In exchange for performing limited tasks such as custodial duties and staffing the center desk, residents receive a significant reduction in room rates. Residence Scholars students must maintain a 3.0 GPA to live in the community. Incoming students must have and SAT score of 1080 and be in the top 10% of their high school graduating class in order to apply to the Residence Scholars Community
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