Scholarships

All John H. Lounsbury College of Education students are encouraged to complete the financial aid application available from the Georgia College & State University Financial Aid Office 478-445-5149 even if they do not intend to receive financial aid through GCSU while enrolled. Some state and national scholarships and other awards are given based on merit and need. Not having a financial aid application on file could disqualify a student from consideration for these awards.

College of Education Scholarships

Generation Next Scholarship
  • The Generation Next Scholarship is designated for first generation college students; there is in a student being the first generation in their family to go to college. It has the power of changing the trajectory of a family and its future generations.
  • First preference for this scholarship will be for a first-generation college student.
Brenda Amelia Pratt Scholarship
  • First preference for this scholarship will be for a Nontraditional female student with a least one child that is in her primary custodial care who demonstrates a need for assistance.
  • Second preference for this scholarship will be for a male student who demonstrates a need for assistance who is the primary caregiver of a least one child.
Mary Eleanor Jordan Turner Scholarship
  • First preference will be for a student with a GPA of 3.5 – 4.0 majoring in any area of education.
Mary Rose Turner Baugh Bacon Scholarship
  • Status: students who have been out of high school for at least five (5) years and are undergraduate or graduate students who are declared education majors
  • GPA of 3.0 must be maintained while receiving this scholarship

Dr. Mary Rose Baugh Bacon was a hero to many in her long life.

"She was a hostess with the mostest," laughed former colleague and dean, Dr. John Lounsbury. "She always opened her house and her heart to her students." Another former school of education dean, Dr. Les Crawford, noted, "She was a very kind person and thoughtful of others. She did a lot of favors for me. She even hosted with delight the International Students for a Fall Welcome when another spot had fallen through. Always generous and hospitable! She had been active in Phi Delta Kappa and hosted many a dinner at Rosehall.

Bacon was known by many because of a distinguished career as an educator at Georgia College where she retired as professor emeritus in 1996 after 27 years of teaching. She served as a professor and coordinator of graduate programs in the education department.

She also is well known for founding and pioneering a freshmen development course that spread across the nation to universities everywhere. "Rose developed the CG 101 class that provided a class for college freshmen to introduce them to the college life and get them oriented," said Lounsbury. Bacon was also recognized for her role in childhood teacher education throughout the state.

"Even after retirement, Rose supervised student teachers here at the college until last year," said Lounsbury. "She taught education classes as well as drug education and human growth and development."

"She did so much for everyone she was involved with," said Lounsbury. "But I think her teaching spoke the most for her." Lounsbury described Bacon as a great teacher who was student centered. "Not only did she teach them, but she was able to connect with them, and many came to her for counseling and advice. She entertained and provided for all," he said.

Bacon was also among the first women from Georgia to accept a reserve commission in the U.S. Air Force in 1957. She served on active duty from 1957-60. She was selected to promote inter-service cooperation during a tour of duty in France where she often escorted then French President Charles de Gaulle.

Not only was Bacon active in her teaching career, but she served on the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Recreation Parks and Allied Arts Commission for 24 years including a term as chairwoman where she played a key role in the development of Little Fishing Creek Golf Course.

Bacon was also a past chairwoman of the Wesley Foundation Board, First United Methodist Church, past president of the Milledgeville Music Club, Georgia Master 4-H Club life member, Rotary Club and many other service organizations.

Bacon was a native of Emanuel County where she attended Emanuel County Institute and was a member of the class of 1953. She graduated from ABAC in 1955 and continued her education by earning a BS in Home Economics Education from the University of Georgia. She traveled extensively around the world in the U.S. Air Force, eventually earning the rank of Captain. While stationed in Washington, DC, she earned a Master's of Education in Counseling from the University of Maryland. She started teaching at Georgia College in 1969, and earned a PhD in Counseling and Student Personnel Services from the University of Georgia in 1978. In 1989 she was given the GC Honorary Alumnus Award. During her tenure at Georgia College she helped educate teachers and nurses for 36 years. 

She was married for 34 years to the late Marvin H. Baugh who was a native of Milledgeville and a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force. The Baughs had four children: Franklin W. Baugh, Rosemary Warren, James E. Baugh, and Marvin T. Baugh. They had eight grandchildren. She also was married to Col. Franklin C. Bacon.

Carmen Bass Scholarship
  • Status: student accepted into junior middle grades cohort.  If not awarded, then consideration given to junior early childhood or special education cohort member 
  • Application includes:
    1) letter of recommendation from someone who can speak to quality of field work
    2) statement of need
    3) persuasive essay regarding interaction with P-12 students and positive impact

Carmen Bass was a vibrant observer of life and a strong advocate for helping young adolescents achieve their potential in a fun-loving way. She was establishing a strong instructive practice and developing her greatest pedagogical gift--connecting with all students. After Carmen's tragic death in her senior year (2007-2008), her family and friends chose to honor her enthusiasm and commitment to educating young people by establishing the Carmen Bass Scholarship.

Attie Gladin Branan Alumni Scholarship
  • Status: freshman to graduate, female, (declared) education majors
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of the academic year

This scholarship was established by a generous gift from the Estate of Attie Gladin Branan, Class of 1925. This scholarship was established to fund awards for education majors.

Deana Burgess Alumni Scholarship
  • Non-traditional student
  • Graduate or undergraduate
  • Female
  • Submit three letters of recommendation
J. Wilson Comer Alumni Scholarship
  • Status: Rising junior, senior and graduate, male or female, (declared) education majors
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of the academic year
Jennie Belle Dickson Cross Alumni Scholarship
  • Status: Rising junior or senior, female, (declared) business major  (first preference) or education major (if no business major meets the criteria)
  • Cumulative GPA of 3.0
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of academic year

The Jennie Belle Dickson Cross Scholarship was established by Lillian Cross Davis in memory of her mother, who was a student at GC in the 1920s. The scholarship is awarded each year to a deserving junior or senior majoring in business or education. Lil says, "Knowing that I have had a hand in providing top notch education for a hardworking young woman is quite a reward in itself."

Edith Fletcher Echols Education Alumni Scholarship
  • Education major
  • Cumulative GPA of 3.0

The Edith Fletcher Echols Education Alumni Scholarship is intended for a home economics major or for a person in a related field. Since Georgia College & State University no longer offers a home economics major, the Alumni and Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee gives preference to an student majoring in education. Gender, class ranking, and geographic locale are not factors. The GPA must be 3.0 or greater. 
           
Edith Fletcher Echols, 94, died Thursday Sept. 28, 2000, in Athens. She was a native of Butts County and the widow of Thomas J. Echols. Mrs. Echols was retired as a teacher from Georgia College for Women, Milledgeville, and was a member of Jackson United Methodist Church. She was a UGA graduate (M'42).

Charles Grady Elder and Katharine Elder Scholarship
  • Status: Completed at least one year in designated course of study in field of education
  • Top 1/3 of class
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of academic year

The following announcement was in the Clayton Tribune, Feb. 14, 2008.

Katharine McCracken Elder, 99, St. Simons Island, died Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008, at Southeast Georgia Health Center in Brunswick.

She was born Feb. 18, 1908, in Bulloch County to Dr. H. Clifton and Mattie Reese McCracken. She graduated from Georgia College in Milledgeville and earned a master's degree in literature from the University of Georgia. Mrs. Elder taught school in Taylor, Crawford, and Appling counties. 

She was the owner of Wyndale Farms, where she raised English shepherd dogs. Mrs. Elder was a member of Glynn County Library and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. She also was a member of St. Simons United Methodist Church.

Katharine Elder was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Grady Elder; and a brother, Howard McCracken. Survivors include several nieces and nephews.

Graveside services were held Saturday at Omega Cemetery with the Rev. Don Proctor officiating. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Simons United Methodist Church. Swain Funeral Home was in charge of funeral arrangements.

Julia C. Ewing Alumni Scholarship
  • Status: rising junior to graduate, male or female, any major
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.5
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of the academic year

Julia C. Ewing graduated from Georgia College & State University, then known as Georgia State College for Women (GSCW). After graduation, she taught in the Georgia public school system for nearly thirty years. Ms. Ewing recognized the need for education scholarships, having received financial aid while she attended GSCW, and led her to establish the Julia C. Ewing Scholarship in 1989.

Floride Moore Gardner Alumni Scholarship
  • Status: freshman to graduate, male or female, (declared) education majors
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of the academic year

Established by friends of Floride Moore Gardner, Class of 1936, this scholarship is intended for education majors of GC. Dr. Gardner remains very active at Georgia College and in the Milledgeville community. Because of her dedication to GC, she was awarded the Alumni Service Award in 1982.

Below is an article about Floride Moore Gardner by Pam Beer for the Women of Interest Column in the Baldwin Bulletin.

Women of Interest:  Floride Moore Gardner

Every community has them--the people about whom fond stories are told and retold long after they've passed from the mortal plane.  Floride Gardner will be one such remembered person in Milledgeville, remembered for her indomitable spirit, gracious wit and unceasing dedication to preserving the history of the place she has called home for almost 90 years.

"It's important to remember your history because it's your life. I'm one person but this town has a life and I'm part of that life," said Floride, approaching her 90th birthday. "I know it because I've lived a majority of my life here. Some people would say that I never really left."

Born Floride Moore to parents May Allen Moore and father Charles Leighton Moore, Floride embodied the joining of two old Milledgeville families. Floride's grandfather, Jerry N. Moore, started The Union-Recorder newspaper when the Federal Recorder merged with another newspaper to become the UR.  Floride's mother was an Allen, and was the oldest child and daughter of the founders of Allen's Invalid Home.

Floride, who said she always knew she wanted to be a teacher, said her life centered on her going to school. She began kindergarten at the Peabody School when she was just four years old, and continued straight through, finishing the 11th grade at age 15 and then enrolling in what was then called the Georgia State College for Women. Back then, Peabody was a demonstration school for GC, a place where teachers honed their craft.

"I knew about student teachers. We knew when they were doing well, and when they weren't. We always behaved strictly if we knew one of the credit (main) teachers was coming, or the principal," Floride said. "I was part of the teaching process."

Because so many college students were perfecting their teaching skills, a variety of subjects were offered from the first grade on, such as music, physical education, home economics and Maypole dancing.

She remembers that it was not until she was working on her master's degree did she have the opportunity to go to school with boys. She also did not have the chance to go to school with African Americans, who had separate schools.

"One of the best things that has happened is that we moved to a single school system for black and white people," Floride said.

After graduating from GSCW in 1936 with dual majors in elementary education and home economics, Floride taught in Shady Dale, Cochran, then Brunswick. After receiving her master's degree from the University of Tennessee, she taught briefly at the University of Alabama before moving on to the University of Georgia, where she taught home economics education for 15 years. She completed her doctorate in New York City, taught at UGA for another year, and then taught at the Teacher's College for several years. At age 46 or 47 (she can't remember which), having returned to Milledgeville, she married Paul E. Gardner, the manager of Atlanta Gas Light Company.

Even having spent so many years away from Milledgeville, it was still home for Floride, who had never voted outside of Baldwin County. She has witnessed many changes over the years.

"Milledgeville was small enough and slow enough that everybody knew each other, black and white, and knew where they lived," Floride said of her childhood days. "If any child misbehaved, someone would say, for instance, 'Floride, your mama wouldn't like you doing that. You'd better go on home now.'"

Passing time brought change, as Walter Williams developed Carrington Woods and other neighborhoods, expanding the boundaries of the city. The old days of Mr. Barnes' personally-owned streetcar that transported people back and forth to Central State on the railroad tracks that ran through town gave way to a bustling downtown where Georgia College is "expanding so it is just eating up the town." New homes are being constructed all over the county, as Floride discovers on her travels weekly with friends.

"I like to ride around Milledgeville a lot to see what's going on and where they're building things," she explained. "I don't know know where the people are coming from that they're building all these houses for. We don't have a new industry."

Floride is fond of saying that she has boasted in the past sharing Milledgeville with five generations of family. She does have five generations buried in Memory hill Cemetery. Although she will be buried in West View Cemetery next to her late husband, her name and important dates will adorn a stone marker in Memory Hill, along with those of her siblings, because she understands the importance of leaving a path for future generations to follow as they search for their forebears.

Her love of history and her understanding of the importance of preserving what was for the generations that will follow served her well when, in 1994 she was appointed to a committee to place markers on unmarked Memory Hill graves with death dates prior to 1939. Ten years of effort resulted in 350 grave markers, and an indexing of the graves in Memory Hill. In 1998 Gardner, along with history enthusiasts Susan and Hugh Harrington, edited a book entitled "Historic Memory Hill Cemetery, Milledgeville Georgia, 1804-1997."

Floride, who exercises several times a week at the Wellness Center (and who takes no medication because she has no illnesses, she says), is continuing to pour her soul into the community she has considered home for approaching a century. Although her work took her away from Milledgeville for almost 40 years, she returned to contribute her strands to her family's threads that are interwoven into the fabric that makes the history of the area she loves.

Frances Fowler Jones Scholarship
  • Status: Elementary Education
Emily Myrtice Lynch Endowed Scholarship
  • Preferential consideration to graduates of public school systems in Jasper and Putnam counties in Georgia
  • Graduate or undergraduate
  • Submit three letters of recommendation

Miss Emily Myrtice Lynch (1909-2007) grew up at the Lynch Home Place in Apollo, Putnam County, Georgia. She attended a one-room schoolhouse in Putnam County then graduated from Monticello (Georgia) High School.

After high school Miss Lynch attended Georgia State College for Women (GSCW) in Milledgeville. As a student at GSCW, Myrtice "Mutt" Lynch was the President of the Math Club, a member of the Literary Guild and quite active in sports including basketball, tennis, and baseball. In 1930 she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies. She then went on to receive a Masters Degree in Mathematics from Columbia University in New York City. 

Miss Lynch spent her professional life teaching math. Her career started in Lincoln County, Georgia then she taught at Girls High High and O'Keefe High School both in Atlanta. Myrtice Lynch became the Math Coordinator for the Atlanta School System and stayed in that position until her retirement.  During her teaching career she received a one-year Ford Foundation Grant that allowed her to study math as it was being taught in schools around the world. She exemplified our ideal of life-long learning.

One former student, Phyllis Cole, noted, "We at O'Keefe were very fortunate to have her as a teacher." Another former student, Joyce Gould, commented, "What a wonderful, genteel, Southern Lady! I was privileged to be a student in Miss Lynch's math class when I was at O'Keefe High School. She was a special teacher who treated students with great respect."

McCall Sisters Alumni Scholarship
  • Status: rising sophomore to senior, male or female (declared) education major
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0

Established in 1979, the McCall Sisters Alumni Scholarship is reserved for education majors who are receiving their first degree. Each of the McCall Sisters received a degree from Georgia College & State University, then Georgia State College for Women: 

Celia McCall Somers, Class of 1929 & 1931 
Julia McCall, Class of 1927 & 1937 
Abbie McCall, Class of 1925 & 1937 
Oma McCall Cumbee, Class of 1929 
Johnnye McCall Lilly, Class of 1940

Mozo-Stewart/Ethel Rae Mozo-Stewart Alumni Scholarship
  • Status: Rising sophomore to senior, male or female, (declared) education majors
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.5
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of the academic year

Ethel Rae Mozo-Stewart was born on Feb. 24, 1926. She was the oldest of four children born to Albert Ray and Ethel Parker Mozo. A precocious child and an "only" for nearly four years, she entered kindergarten at 5 years of age. She graduated from South Broward High School in Dania, Florida. She completed college in three years, receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville (as her mother had done) in June 1946.

She was married to Royce Stephens Stewart, a native of Greensboro, Georgia, in May, 1947. She worked for the Department of Public Health at Milledgeville State Hospital (now CSH). During this time she also served as the volunteer music director at the Boys Training School (now the Bill E. Ireland Youth Development Center), lead a Cub Scout pack, and parented two rambunctious children, a daughter, Robin Rae and a son, Stephen Mozo Stewart. She also developed her hobbies of china painting, various collections and genealogy.

In 1965 Mrs. Stewart received her Masters Degree in Library Science and became a full-time librarian at Northside Elementary School in Milledgeville. She earned her Specialist Degree in Administration from the University of Georgia and became principal of Northside in August, 1971. She remained there until 1986, when major health concerns forced her to assume a less stressful role. She became the media specialist at Sallie Davis Elementary School and remained until her retirement in 1989. She died in March, 1993.

Ethel Rae Mozo-Stewart was a member of the Beta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, the Milledgeville Music Club; she was past Worthy Matron of the Milledgeville Order of the Eastern Star, a Life Member of the National PTA and a tireless worker for the Milledgeville Community Concert Association. She was a soloist and member of the First Baptist Church in Milledgeville, Georgia. She enjoyed gardening, bridge, aquasize and swimming (which her father taught her as a toddler).

Mrs. Stewart established the Mozo-Stewart Scholarship at Georgia College in honor of the seven members of her family who were graduates of the school. Since her death many friends and family members have continued to add to the initial gift. As witnessed by her example, education served a major role in her life. She encouraged many young people throughout the community to continue learning even after their formal "schooling" had ended. The scholarship is currently awarded annually to a deserving student majoring in the field of education.

As indicated earlier, she was an active community volunteer throughout her life. In order to honor her passion for volunteerism, her family established The Ethel Rae Mozo-Stewart Community Service Award in 1996. This award is presented annually by the Georgia College & State University Alumni Association to an alumnus who has exhibited exemplary acts of volunteerism within their own community.

Marvin McTyeire Parks-Ruth Vaden Parks Alumni Scholarship
  • Status: freshman to senior, male or female, (declared) education majors
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of the academic year

This scholarship was established by Dorothy Parks Beall in memory of her parents Marvin and Ruth Parks. Her father, Dr. Parks, served as president of Georgia College & State University, then Georgia Normal & Industrial College and later Georgia State College for Women. Dorothy was born in the octagonal room of the Old Governor's Mansion during Dr. Parks' presidency. The students held a competition to name the baby, and her brothers and sisters helped to select the name Dorothy Virginia Parks. She graduated from GSCW in 1929 and did graduate work at the University of California at Berkley. Her ties to Georgia College, and the Old Governor's Mansion, were strengthened when she was married in the mansion. Throughout her lifetime, she remained very active in the Georgia College Alumni Association and received the Alumnae Heritage Award in 1989.

The information below comes from the GCSU Library web pages.

Dr. Marvin McTyeire Parks was Georgia College's longest serving president, having served for twenty-one years (1905 - 1926). He was the University's second president, taking office from Dr. J. Harris Chappell who was in poor health when he left the office. Dr. Marvin Parks was born in Marietta, Georgia in 1872. He graduated from Emory University in 1892 and later received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Georgia in 1915. Parks began his career at Georgia Normal & Industrial College in1903 as a professor of pedagogy and was soon after named acting president of the college in 1904. Parks took one leave of absence while he was serving as president when he traveled around the world from 1909-1910.

Parks was known as "the builder" president. Under his direction the college constructed eight new buildings including Chappell Hall, Terrell Hall, Parks Hall, Ennis Hall, Russell Auditorium, and Lanier Hall. One major tragedy struck the campus while Parks was president. In December of 1924 the Main Building, the heart of campus, which housed administrative offices, an auditorium, and classrooms, was destroyed by fire. While the fire could have destroyed everything Presidents Chappell and Parks had worked to build at GN&IC, Parks was able to gather support and funds from the Milledgeville community and college alumni. With this support, and Parks sharp eye on spending, the college was able to rebuild buildings and reestablish the college community after the devastating 1924 fire.

In addition to the numerous building projects, academics and student involvement prospered during the Parks' presidency. The first issue of the student newspaper, The Colonnade, was released in 1925; The Spectrum, the college's yearbook, was issued for the first time in 1917; and the literary magazine, The Corinthian, was founded in 1927. Under his administration, the college worked to raise standards and began offering summer school in 1917. Parks, after working tirelessly with the GN&IC Board of Directors and the state of Georgia, was able to convince Governor Hardwick to sign a law in August, 1922 giving the college the status of a four year degree granting institution. Along with the change in status, the name of the school was changed from Georgia Normal & Industrial College to Georgia State College for Women. Parks also worked to restructure the college, creating five distinct areas of study: The College of Arts and Sciences, The School of Home Economics, The School of Education and Practice Teaching, The Division of College Extension, and The Summer School (Bonner 84).

In December 1926 Parks was attending an Alpha Tau Omega convention in Tampa, Florida, and was struck by a car while he was crossing the street. After the accident and his subsequent death, Parks was returned to Milledgeville and buried on Jan. 2, 1927. His death was a shock to the college and Milledgeville community and was reported widely in papers through out Florida and Georgia.


Sources of Information:

A Centennial History of Georgia College by William Ivy Hair with James C. Bonner, Edward B. Dawson, and Robert J. Wilson III. Milledgeville: Georgia College, 1989.

The Peabody Endowed Scholarship
  • Status: junior or senior at the start of the fall semester
  • Majoring in one of the College of Education cohort programs
  • Preference given to relative of Peabody alumni

Though the laboratory school established by John Dewey at the University of Chicago in 1896 is generally recognized as the first of its type, the Model School, which later became Peabody Model School and later Peabody Child and Family Center, was part of the original prospectus outlining Georgia Normal and Industrial College, predating the Dewey School by five years. "The pupils in this School will be from six to eleven years of age, and will represent the first four years of public School work. It will be taught by thoroughly trained, highly skilled primary teachers, and its purpose is to give the students of the Normal Department the opportunity to observe and study primary methods as they are actually employed in the instruction of children." (Georgia Normal and Industrial College - Prospectus 1891)

Peabody was designed to help students in the teaching program get experience before they started their first teaching job. Sophomores and juniors in the Normal School (School of Education) observed the classes at Peabody and seniors taught at Peabody for one hour a day. Teaching at Peabody gave students in education 120-150 hours of on the job work experience before they received their teaching certificates.

Peabody served as a public school for Baldwin County children beginning in 1891. In 1927 Peabody expanded its services and began operating as Baldwin County's four year high school. Since education in rural Georgia was not developed in the late 1800's and early 1900's, Peabody also served a boarding school for girls living in rural Georgia.

The Peabody school offered a full education for children. Peabody students could participate in cultural events at the college, and children were taught on various occasions by professors from GN&IC.

The first Peabody classes in 1891 were held in the Main Building on the GN&IC campus. There were 36 Peabody students and one full time teacher, one part time teacher, and the student teachers. The program continued to grow with more teachers and students coming to the school every year. In 1924 the Main Building housing Peabody burned. After the fire the school was moved between the Kemp House, the Methodist Church, and the Courthouse. In the 1930's a building was constructed for the Peabody High School (now the Language Building) and a space was provided for the lower grades in the Teacher Training Building on Montgomery Street.

In the 1970's the Peabody school began to be phased out. Baldwin County was growing and public schools were being built. The Board of Regents also decided to cut funding for elementary school education. Georgia College no longer depended on a practice school for education students since they began teaching at the Baldwin County Schools.

Peabody Child & Family Center continued to exist at Georgia College until the spring of 2000 when, due to system wide budget cuts, the center was unexpectedly closed. Peabody, being one of the first schools of its kind, represents GC's original foundation based on a culture of creativity and forward thinking. Peabody's closure ends an era of unique child care and child education associated with GC. The loss of the school is felt by the faculty, staff, students, and the Milledgeville community.

Kranzberg Phoenix Alumni Scholarship
  • Status: freshman to senior female, (declared) education majors 
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of the academic year
  • Other: Age 30 or over 

This scholarship was established by a gift from Dr. Melvin Kranzberg to honor his wife, Les, who achieved success in the field of public education. Mrs. Louise Lester was a GSCW graduate in 1951.  She was a principal and is now retired.  Mrs. Kranzberg requested that the scholarship be awarded to female education majors over the age of 30.

The following is an article about Dr. Kranzberg that appeared in the New York Times Dec. 9, 1995.

Melvin Kranzberg, 78, Historian of Technology

By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Published: Saturday, Dec. 9, 1995

Melvin Kranzberg, a scholar who helped establish the study of the history of technology and explained its impact on society, died on Wednesday at his home in Atlanta. Dr. Kranzberg, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, was 78.

The cause was cancer, said August Giebelhaus, a professor of history at Georgia Tech and a longtime colleague.

Dr. Kranzberg co-founded the Society for the History of Technology in 1958. From then until 1984, he was the editor of its quarterly journal, Technology and Culture.

"His life's work was to assert the autonomy of this discipline," Professor Giebelhaus said. "It was not just applied science, and it was not just a minor part of economic history, but it was a discipline in itself.

Dr. Kranzberg argued that technological development could not be understood without seeing how it was linked to society.

He wrote or edited 11 books and wrote more than 150 scholarly articles; he also popularized his field in newspaper articles.

In a 1968 article, he wrote: "Engineers, in general, live in the suburbs, vote Republican and mouth the clichés of conservatism. Actually, if unwittingly, they are greater social revolutionaries than many wild-eyed political radicals.

"Without necessarily meaning to, they invent new products, processes, systems and devices that produce profound socio-cultural transformations."

The automobile self-starter, he wrote, freed women and children to see the world and electric washers, driers, vacuum cleaners, supermarkets and telephones freed women for "drinking, loafing, heavy thinking about issues like Vietnam and even jobs, the same as men."

"Radicals" like the inventors Watt, Fulton, McCormick, Edison and Marconi, he said, changed the face of the world.

Early in the computer era, he foresaw immense social upheaval, but he remained optimistic, as he generally was about technological change.

Writing more than 25 years ago, he said, "There is no doubt that many individuals will be thrown out of their jobs by automation, and the process will accelerate with every passing year. At the same time computers are speeding and extending the advance of science and technology at a pace never before witnessed in history. This, we know, will create new lines of productivity, new and better jobs, new professions and untold wealth."

Dr. Kranzberg was born on Nov. 22, 1917, in St Louis. He studied history and economics at Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1938. At Harvard University he earned a master's degree in 1938 and a doctorate in 1942.

During World War II, he served in the Army in Europe as a sergeant in military intelligence, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and interrogated German prisoners on the front lines. He won the Bronze Star for finding crucial enemy gun emplacements.

Originally a specialist in modern French history, Dr. Kranzberg taught at Harvard, the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., and Amherst. In 1952 he joined the faculty of at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. There, while developing a history course for engineering students, he shifted to the history of technology.

He was appointed a professor at Case in 1959, and left in 1972 to become the Callaway Professor of the History of Technology at Georgia Tech. When he retired in 1988, he became a professor emeritus, and the institute named a professorship in the history of technology in his honor.

His awards included the NASA Apollo Achievement Award, the Roe Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the State of Israel's Jabotinsky Centennial Medal for eminence in science and letters, the Olmstead Award of the American Society for Engineering Education and the Bernal Award of the Society for Social Studies of Science.

Dr. Kranzberg is survived by his wife, the former Louise Lester of Atlanta; two sons by a previous marriage, John and Steven, both of St. Louis; a brother, Maurice, also of St. Louis, and four grandchildren.

Elizabeth A. Rihm Scholarship
  • Rising senior enrolled in the undergraduate special education, early childhood, or middle grades education program offered by the John H. Lounsbury College of Education;
  • Member of Delta Zeta Sorority, GC Chapter;
  • Recommendation by the Chair of the Department of Special Education and Educational Leadership in the John H. Lounsbury College of Education.

The Elizabeth A. Rihm Annual Scholarship is named in honor of Beth Rihm, a special education major from Snellville, Georgia, who was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 2003. Beth was a member of Delta Zeta Sorority and extremely active in sorority philanthropy and in volunteerism in the local community.

The faculty members in the special education program unanimously approved the establishment of the Beth Rihm Award given yearly to the graduating senior in the special education program who demonstrates an outstanding commitment to others through volunteer service in the community. Beginning in 2004 this award is presented annually at the John H. Lounsbury College of Education Honors Convocation; a permanent plaque is displayed in the department in her honor.

Ann Simpson Smith Alumni Scholarship
  • Status: freshman to graduate, male or female, (declared) education majors
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of the academic year

Ann Simpson Smith was a nutritionist and home economics instructor at Georgia College. She earned a diploma from GC, then known as Georgia Normal & Industrial College, in 1921; and a bachelor of science degree from Georgia State College for Women. She also received a masters degree from the University of Georgia. She taught at GC from 1925 to 1969. She was very active in the GC Alumni Association and received a Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 1973.

Dr. T.E. & Lavane Smith Alumni Scholarship
  • Status: freshman to senior, male or female, (declared) education majors 
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of the academic year
  • Other: This scholarship requires that applicants submit, with application, three references, each of which attest that he or she is drug free, law abiding and of high moral character

T. E. Smith was the registrar for many years at Georgia State College for Women. He wrote a locally historic book entitled History of the First Baptist Church of Milledgeville, Georgia, 1811-1975. T. E. Smith and Lavane Abercrombie Smith were married in 1925 in Turner County.

Catherine E. Thurston Alumni Scholarship
  • Status: freshman to senior, male or female, (declared) education major
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of the academic year

Catherine Thurston, Class of 1955, 1964, and 1969, taught for years in the Washington County public school system before joining the education faculty at Georgia College & State University. She was active in the alumni association and also served as pianist and education director of Montpelier United Methodist Church. She received the Alumni Service Award in 1986 from the Georgia College Alumni Association for her dedication to the college and the association.

Eleyce Ard Usery Scholarship
  • Status: Secondary Mathematics major
Saul Wolpert Foundation Scholarship
  • Status: graduate students, enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching-Secondary Education program
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0
  • Full-time enrollment for both semesters of the academic years 

In the summer at the first meet with the incoming secondary education MATs, one of the COE professors explains who is eligible for this award. Those who are eligible and wish to apply must do so by the deadline which is mid-August. Faculty in the COE review the applications and recommend someone for the scholarship. The recipient is given the money during that school year and is recognized in the COE honors day ceremony. Former Dean Ed Wolpert meets with the chosen person at a development event during the year.

Saul Wolpert was born in 1905 in Brooklyn, New York and died in 1994 in Atlanta. He was the eighth child (out of eight children) of Leopold and Bella Wolpert who immigrated to this country in 1888 from Latvia. He was very intelligent and quite well educated having received a bachelors and a masters degree in an era when graduation from high school was considered a significant accomplishment.

He was employed by the New York City public schools first as a secondary school teacher of commercial education, then as a department chairperson, and finally as an assistant principal. He was an excellent teacher and administrator and left a legacy of major accomplishments when he retired in 1970, including a textbook, Bookkeeping and Accounting, Principles and Practice, published by Prentice Hall, which was used extensively in the public schools of New York City. He had three sons, one an attorney in New York City, another a research chemist in New Jersey, and one an educator residing in Georgia. This educator son, Edward M. Wolpert, was Dean of the GC School of Education from 1983-1996 and was a Professor in Foundations and Secondary Education from 1996-2000. Saul Wolpert's extended family includes seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

The scholarship fund was established by his family and friends upon his death to honor him. The specification of a recipient who would be enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching program for students who would be preparing to teach in secondary schools was made deliberately since it was in that venue that he spent his career in education.

The Rockdale Retired Educators Association

For further information contact the RREA scholarship chairman, Kathy Voshall, at kathyvoshall@hotmail.com.

  • Recipient must have graduated from a Rockdale County high school
  • Recipient must be studying to enter a teaching field
  • Recipient must have completed at least one year of college
  • Recipient must provide transcript of college grades
  • Recipient must demonstrate financial need
  • Application is due by March 31 
The Seeds of Dignity Annual Scholarship

The Seeds of Dignity Annual Scholarship was established in 2020 in support of the Georgia College & State University Call Me MiSTER Program and its goal to help address historical racial injustices in education regarding Black students and teachers.

  • This scholarship, established by a GC alum and former teacher, is intended for an actively enrolled student in the “Call Me MiSTER” Program in the John H. Lounsbury College of Education with a major in education.
  • Second preference is for an underrepresented student majoring in education in the John H. Lounsbury College of Education who demonstrates an understanding of the history behind educational access and equity in Georgia and seeks a career teaching in a Title I school.

Other Scholarships and Loans for Education Students

Charles McDaniel Teacher Scholarship

Please find out more about the Charles McDaniel Teacher Scholarship from the Georgia Student Finance Commission at (800) 505-4732.

  • Be a legal resident of Georgia
  • Be a graduate of a Georgia public high school
  • Be enrolled in a Georgia public college as a full-time undergraduate
  • Be classified as a Junior or Senior level student and admitted to the department of education of the college
  • Have a cumulative grade average of 3.25 or higher
  • Indicate a strong desire to be a teacher
Federal Student Loan Forgiveness for Teachers

Federal Student Loan Forgiveness for Teachers is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue the teaching profession. Visit the Federal Student Aid website for more details.

Hollings Scholarship from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration

The Hollings Scholarship from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration is a scholarship for future science teacher candidates who will be juniors. 

To Apply:

1. Go to My GCSU
2. Login using your campus credentials
3. Select Scholarship Application System in the Service Apps area.
4. Complete Scholarship Application and Submit
If you have questions, please send an email to scholarships@gcsu.edu

Contact for Information on How to Set Up an Endowed Scholarship

joe-peters

Dr. Joe Peters
Dean
CBX 70 Georgia College & State University
220C Kilpatrick Education Center
Milledgeville, GA 31061
478-445-2518  Fax: 478-445-6582
Joseph.Peters@gcsu.edu