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Vanderbilt Aid Society disbands, rolling loan fund into endowed scholarship

Posted 5/15/2009

Approximately 70 members of the Vanderbilt Aid Society, including the great-granddaughter of the group’s first president, gathered at the Student Life Center on May 12 for the final annual meeting of the 115-year-old organization.
   
The group started in 1894 when Chancellor James Kirkland met with a group of women representing some of Nashville’s most prominent families. He asked them to raise money for worthy students who otherwise would be unable to remain at the university. More than 5,000 students have benefitted from the Vanderbilt Aid loans through the years, which some members have characterized as “loans of last resort.” The total amount of money that has been made available to Vanderbilt students is just under $800,000. Recipients are required to repay the money over several years time at a low interest rate.
   
However, the board recently voted to disband the organization after learning that Vanderbilt would no longer award loans to undergraduate students. Instead, as of fall 2009, qualified students can receive need-based grants or scholarships. Morel Enoch Harvey, board president and Vanderbilt alumna, announced that what remains in the fund will be donated to the Shape the Future campaign for an endowed scholarship. This means that Vanderbilt Aid will continue to benefit future students. In addition, the fund will grow as students with outstanding loans repay them to the endowment.  
   
Douglas Christiansen, associate provost for enrollment and dean of admissions, addressed the members to thank them and to express deep gratitude for their support through the years. “I cannot begin to tell you how important you have been, each of you, in changing the lives of our students,” he said. “We are thrilled that the new endowment will continue to change lives in the years ahead,” he said.
   
Harvey noted that those who wish to help students with financial needs can contribute to the scholarship. “We can still make donations, and our legacy will continue to grow,” she said. In addition, students with outstanding loans will continue to repay them to the endowment.
   
Harvey and Christiansen unveiled a plaque that will be displayed permanently in the Undergraduate Admissions Building to honor the society and its accomplishments. Among those Harvey recognized at the meeting were past presidents of Vanderbilt Aid and Carolyn Southgate Sartor, great-granddaughter of the organization’s first president, Elizabeth Boddie Elliston.
   
Lisa Littlejohn, treasurer, presented a final check from the organization for $5,500 to Christiansen to add to the scholarship. The meeting concluded with refreshments and the opportunity to look at some of the society’s old scrapbooks, which are housed in the Heard Library’s Special Collections.

Contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, 615-322-NEWS
annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu

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