where legends are made campaign

News

$110,000 in Art & Art History Scholarships Awarded on Honors Day

  • Posted on: April 9th, 2021

Woods Hall was the first building to be built on UA campus after the Civil War, completed in 1868. Now, it overlooks six sculptures in the Woods Quad Sculpture Garden.

The UA Department of Art and Art History is proud to announce our scholarship award recipients for the upcoming academic year, 2021-2022. Graduates, undergraduates and incoming freshmen in studio art and art history were awarded a total of $110,000 in scholarships, thanks to our generous donors.

Our Scholarship Recipients

The William Garnet Anderson Endowed Scholarship was established by Mr. William G. Anderson of Shreveport, Louisiana, a longtime supporter of the University, to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. Anderson, a UA alumnus, has endowed scholarships and support funds in the departments of history, geology, art and art history, as well as other programs.

  • Sophia Ancira, class of 2022, double major in art history and marketing with a minor in Blount Scholars Program, from Huntsville, Ala.

Art Students Endowed Scholarship Fund established in 1981 by faculty, students and friends of the department to support academic excellence in art and art history at The University of Alabama.

  • Mackenna Overholt, class of 2022, BFA major in painting and drawing with a minor in art history, from Golden, Colorado

The Elizabeth B. Bashinsky Endowed Art Scholarship was created by Elizabeth Crump to honor her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Burford Bashinsky, and to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. For her lifetime of service, Mrs. Bashinsky was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame and was awarded the Algernon Sidney Sullivan Award by both The University of Alabama and Judson College.

  • Alisa Mills, class of 2021 (fall) BFA major in painting and drawing, from Dothan, Ala.
  • Alyssa Serena, a sophomore BFA major in digital media and painting, from Trussville, Ala.
  • Drew Merriweather, class of 2023, BFA major in digital media, from Mobile, Ala.

The Joseph S. and Carolyn Bolt Endowed Support Fund in Art History was established by Dr. Joseph Bolt and his wife Carolyn Bolt in 2000 to promote academic excellence in research in art history by graduate students enrolled in the MA art history program.  Dr. Bolt (1921-2002) served for 36 years as a professor of art history. An alumnus of Harvard, UNC-Chapel Hill and Georgia, in 1984, he received the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award, given by UA’s National Alumni Association. Carolyn Bolt (1921-2018) was an artist, earning her BFA from the University of Georgia in 1942. She was actively involved in art department activities from the 1950s onward, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art. Her efforts continued into the 2000s when she and her husband established this fund to support students studying art.

  • Rebecca Lowery, class of 2022, art history major with a double minor in Italian and anthropology, in the Accelerated Masters Program (AMP)

The Bradley Endowed Scholarship Fund was established by the late Mrs. Verne B. Henry (1903-1986) of Jefferson County, Ala., in the Bradley family name to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. Verne Bradley Henry earned her bachelor’s degree from UA in 1925 and taught art for 23 years in the Birmingham city schools, serving as supervisor of art for eleven years. She also held office in the Southeastern Art Association, the regional forerunner of the Art Education Department of the National Education Association.

  • Sarah Katherine Steen, class of 2024, BFA major in drawing and painting, from Nashville, Tennessee
  • Elizabeth Reid Smith, class of 2023, double major in public relations and studio art, from Louisville, Kentucky

The Russell J. Drake Endowed Scholarship Fund was established by Russell J. “Jack” Drake of Birmingham, Ala., to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. Drake is a 1969 graduate of The University of Alabama School of Law and serves on the Paul Jones Advisory Board and the Leadership Board in the College of Arts and Sciences.

  • Olivia Janson, class of 2022, art history major with a double minor in Italian and Medieval and Early Modern European Studies (MEMES), from Denver, Colorado

The Marilyn Williams Elmore Endowed Art Scholarship was established by Mrs. Mildred E. Hulsey of Birmingham to honor the memory of her mother, Marilyn Williams Elmore, and to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. Mrs. Elmore (1923-2005) earned a BA in sociology in 1944. She participated in and contributed to many civic organizations including serving as a board member and then president of the Children’s Aid Society Foundation and the Leadership Board in the College of Arts and Sciences.

  • Natalie Vizzina, class of 2022, BFA major in digital media and sculpture, from Birmingham, Ala.

The Farley Moody Galbraith Endowed Scholarship was established by Mrs. Farley Moody Galbraith, a generous donor with a long history as a friend of the department. She created this scholarship to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. The Moody and Galbraith families have been longtime patrons of the arts and loyal supporters of The University of Alabama. Mrs. Galbraith’s mother, Sarah McCorkle Moody, established The University of Alabama’s Permanent Collection in 1950, and in 1967, the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art was named in honor of her.

  • Jasmine Nixon, class of 2023, BFA major in drawing and printmaking, from Vance, Ala.
  • Ivy Borden, class of 2023, double major in interdisciplinary studies and art history, from Birmingham, Ala.
  • A’Neshia Turner, class of 2021 (fall), BFA major in digital media and painting with a minor in computing technology and applications, from Montgomery, Ala.
  • Aidan Miles-Jamison, class of 2023, double-major in art history and piano performance, from Oxford, Ala.
  • Alexis Hawthorne, class of 2021 (fall), BFA major in digital media and drawing, from Tuscaloosa, Ala.
  • Autumn Williams, class of 2023, BFA major in digital media, from Prattville, Ala.
  • Tonya Williams, class of 2022, BFA major in digital media, from Fayetteville, Georgia.
  • Ella Smyth, class of 2023, BFA major, from Prattville, Ala.
  • Emily Rabbideau, class of 2025

The Galbraith Endowed Art Scholarship was also established by Mrs. Farley Moody Galbraith to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA.

  • Alyssa Serena, a sophomore BFA major in digital media and painting, from Trussville, Ala.
  • Sophia Ancira, class of 2022, double major in art history and marketing with a minor in Blount Scholars Program, from Huntsville, Ala.
  • Allie McGilberry, class of 2022, BFA major in digital media with a minor in general business, from Nashville, Tennessee
  • Caroline Kohn, class of 2022, BFA major in digital media, from Mountain Brook, Ala.

The Angelo Granata Endowed Scholarship was established by Mrs. Clara L. Granata and other family and friends to support the education of students in the department of art and art history and to honor the memory of Professor Emeritus Angelo “Jack” Granata (1922-2009). Scholarship recipients are known as Granata Scholars. A BFA and MFA alumnus of the University of Iowa, in 1949, Professor Granata joined UA’s art faculty to teach sculpture until his retirement in 1988. He served as chair of the department and director of the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art. His sculptures have been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art and the Forum Gallery of NYC, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, among many others. His works are held in numerous collections across the country.

  • Natalie Vizzina, class of 2022, BFA major in digital media and sculpture, from Birmingham, Ala.

The Barbara Ann Taylor Guthans Endowed Scholarship was established by C. Richard Wilkins and Jeanie Guthans Wilkins of Mobile, Ala., to honor Mrs. Wilkins’ mother, Barbara Ann Taylor Guthans, and to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. Mrs. Guthans received her BFA degree in fine and applied arts from UA in 1954 and made a career as a commercial artist. She has served in positions of leadership for numerous civic and charitable organizations in Mobile, as well as on the College of Arts and Sciences’ steering committee for UA’s “Campaign for Alabama” capital campaign for UA’s Blount Undergraduate Initiative, now the Blount Scholars Program.

  • Matthew Wright, class of 2022, art history major with a minor in Medieval and Early Modern European Studies (MEMES), from Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The Julie Peake Holaday Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established by Dr. John W. Holaday to support the education of students studying art and art history and to honor the memory of his sister, Julie Peake Holaday (1942-1969). Julie Peake Holaday received her BFA in 1964 and her MFA in 1966 in art from The University of Alabama.

  • Sylvia Dysis Cervino, class of 2023, BFA major in digital media with a minor in anthropology, from Tuscaloosa, Ala.
  • Ashlyn Moore, class of 2022, studio art major with a minor in mathematics, from Flower Mound, Texas
  • Samuel Hayes, class of 2022, studio art major with a minor in computing technology and applications, from Springville, Ala.
  • Rachel Moroz, class of 2022, double major in advertising and studio art, from Bayville, New Jersey

The Paul R. Jones Endowed Scholarship was established by Paul Raymond Jones (1928-2010), renowned for his art collection, his civil rights activism and his support for art education, to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. In 2008, Mr. Jones established the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at The University of Alabama in order to share the works of these artists and their significance with the people of Alabama and beyond and to educate students on the importance of art in life. The Paul R. Jones Museum features exhibitions built around works from the collection, and, along with the lecture series Jones established, focuses on making art accessible to the University and the wider community.

  • Jasmine Nixon, class of 2023, BFA major in drawing and printmaking, from Vance, Ala.

The Carolyn Haddon “Julie” Matthews Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established by Carolyn M. Lowe of Birmingham, Ala., to honor the memory of her mother and to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. Mrs. Matthews graduated from UA in 1961 with a BA in history and continued to be involved with the College of Arts and Sciences, most notably through her longtime support of the Society for the Fine Arts.

  • Emily A. Bookmiller, class of 2022, BFA major in painting and drawing with a minor in Blount Scholars Program, from Lancaster, New York

The Carol B. Merkle Endowed Scholarship was established to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. Dr. Carol Merkle of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, is a 1978 graduate of The University of Alabama. Both she and her husband Arthur graduated from the University of Alabama School of Dentistry in 1983. Carol Merkle serves on the executive council and Arthur Merkle serves on the leadership council for the UA School of Dentistry Alumni Association.

  • Zimberlyn Major, class of 2022, BFA major in digital media and ceramics with a minor in French, from Mobile, Ala.
  • Sylvia Dysis Cervino, class of 2023, BFA major in digital media with a minor in anthropology, from Tuscaloosa, Ala.
  • Noah Calvert, class of 2022, BFA major in photography and digital media, from Tuscaloosa, Ala.
  • Rachel Moroz, class of 2022, double major in advertising and studio art, from Bayville, New Jersey

The Myra and Jim Morgan Endowed Scholarship was established by Denise Morgan Milton, James P. Morgan, and Dennis Morgan, to promote academic excellence in art and art history at UA, to honor the memory of their parents, Myra and Jim Morgan, and, the children stated, “to recognize the contribution their parents made through art to the overall depth of life.” Jim and Myra Morgan founded the Morgan Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri, and were leaders in the art community, bringing artists from across the country to a growing audience of both corporate and private collectors in the Midwest. They collected both contemporary art and Americana. The Morgan Collection is held in the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art Permanent Collection and includes artists such as Robert Arneson, William Christenberry, Frank Fleming, Mel Ramos, Robert Stackhouse and William T. Wiley, among many others.

  • Emily A. Bookmiller, class of 2022, BFA major in painting and drawing with a minor in Blount Scholars Program, from Lancaster, New York

The Mary M. Morgan Memorial Art Scholarship Fund was established by Niel C. Morgan in 1978 to honor the memory of his late wife Mary Murphy Morgan and to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. Niel C. Morgan founded N.C. Morgan Construction Company in Tuscaloosa and built numerous 20th-century landmarks in west Alabama including the Stafford Hotel, NorthRiver Yacht Club, Greenetrack greyhound park, and Rose Towers, as well as buildings at UA and additions at DCH Regional Medical Center.

  • Elizabeth Reid Smith, class of 2023, double major in public relations and studio art, from Louisville, Kentucky
  • Brylane Hay, class of 2023, BFA major in digital media with a minor in creative media, from Sylacauga, Ala.
  • Isabella Guynes, class of 2025

The Vernon Rutledge and Eugenia Otwell Rutledge Endowed Scholarship was established in 2009 by Jerry Otwell Rutledge to honor his parents, Vernon and Eugenia Otwell Rutledge, and to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. Jerry Rutledge, a 1963 BFA graduate of the University, is a freelance artist and artistic director. He was the original creative director for the National Humanities Series of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation at Princeton University, among other honors. In addition to his artistic and business ventures, Rutledge is an art collector and supporter of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

  • Hailie Thomas, class of 2022, BFA major in painting and digital media, from Mahomet, Illinois

The Alvin C. Sella and Joseph Sella Endowed Scholarship was established by the Sella family to honor the memory of Professor Emeritus Alvin Sella and his father Joseph Sella and to support graduate students in studio art in the department. Professor Sella, who died in 2013, taught at The University of Alabama for five decades. Sella studied art at the Yale University, Art Students League of New York, Columbia University, Syracuse University, University of New Mexico and, independently, in Mexico. He has been represented in one-man shows, group shows, exhibitions, corporate collections, and private collections across the U.S. and internationally. His father, Joseph Sella, who died in 1973, immigrated from Italy as a child and was also an artist who did architectural artwork in and on New York buildings and in the steel industry.

  • Shivam Pawar, graduate student in printmaking and painting, from Muzaffarnagar, India
  • Dillan Scott Ladner, class of 2025

The Emily Irene Thames Endowed Fine Arts Fellowship Fund was established in 1985 by William G. Thames in honor of Emily Irene Thames and to support academic excellence in graduate studies in studio art at UA.

  • Shivam Pawar, graduate student in printmaking and painting, from Muzaffarnagar, India
  • Paul Wolfe, class of 2025

The Windgate Charitable Foundation Endowed Studio Arts Scholarship is awarded to undergraduate or graduate students who excel in the area of fine arts. Recipients are known as Windgate Fellows.

  • Mackenna Overholt, class of 2022, BFA major in painting and drawing with a minor in art history, from Golden, Colorado
  • Jocelyn Licwinko, class of 2022, BFA major in painting and printmaking with a minor in German, from West Chester, Pennsylvania
  • Derek Fairburn, class of 2022, double major in studio art and Blount Scholars Program with a minor in biology, from Germantown, Wisconsin
  • Hannah Caitlin Willis, class of 2023, BFA major in ceramics and sculpture, from Bedford, Virginia
  • Zimberlyn Major, class of 2022, BFA major in digital media and ceramics with a minor in French, from Mobile, Ala.

The Richard Zoellner Scholarship was established in 1963 by an anonymous donor in honor of Professor Richard Zoellner (1909-2003), who taught printmaking at UA for 33 years and to support academic excellence in art and art history at UA. Professor Zoellner’s works are in collections ranging from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to the Mint Museum of Art in North Carolina. Professor Zoellner founded UA’s fine art printmaking program in 1945, one of only two in the Southeast at the time.

  • Olivia Bennes, class of 2022, art history major with a minor in Medieval and Early Modern European Studies (MEMES), from Brentwood, Tenn.

For more information about giving to one of the department’s scholarship funds, please go to our Giving page.