The story of the McGillick Scholarships at Carlow
University is a tale of honor and smart thinking. Back in 1998,
five trustees wanted to ensure a fund established in 1937 would
long continue to award scholarships according to the wishes of the
benefactor, late Pittsburgh real estate investor Francis Edward
McGillick.
The five trustees-Robert D. Barozzini, W. Timothy
Barry, Matthew P. Collins, Thomas J. McCaffrey and Thomas French-
Corbett-visited colleges and conducted interviews with college
leaders. They wanted to solve the challenge of how to qualify
scholarship recipients year after year. The trustees wanted to
establish a review process and a university partnership that was
both sustainable and true to the fund's mission.
"Mr. McGillick valued education, above all else, as
the best path out of poverty. Motivated by his Catholic faith, he
established the F.E. McGillick Foundation to provide educational
opportunities by granting scholarships to young men and women of
the Roman Catholic faith, without regard to color or nationality,
but only to applicants who exhibit undoubted talent, are of good
moral standing and who for want of means would be prevented from
pursuing the desired course of instruction," Barozzini said.
After a meeting with then-Carlow President Sister
Grace Ann Geibel and the Office of University Advancement's Anita
Dacal '69, the trustees selected Carlow for an eight-year agreement
to distribute need-based scholarships for up to 40 students each
year.
"We were impressed by Carlow as being knowledgeable,
compassionate, willing to work with us and having a great system
for qualifying McGillick scholars," Barozzini said.
In 2007, the trustees arranged for Carlow to award the
scholarships indefinitely.
Thomas X. Corbett, the great-grandson of McGillick,
has since joined the small group of trustees.
"Donating to Carlow is meaningful because we see
firsthand the impact these partial scholarships have for the
recipients, gaining opportunities to meet with the students and see
their growth," Corbett said. "Also, the university and the Sisters
of Mercy are like family to many on our board."
Corbett's great-aunt was a past president at Mount
Mercy College and a Sister of Mercy. Fellow trustee McCaffrey
attended grade school at Carlow, and his aunt was a Sister of
Mercy.
"The students' appreciation for the help is always
felt by our board, and Carlow instills the values my great
grandfather was looking to help foster," Corbett said.
The McGillick Scholarships are awards of up to $2,500
per year for a maximum
of four years at Carlow. To be eligible, students must
be of the Roman Catholic faith, remain in good academic standing,
be between the ages of 16 and 50 and reside in Pennsylvania.
Carlow has awarded more than $2.2 million in McGillick
Scholarships since 1998, including $106,250 during the 2017-2018
academic year alone. Patricia Beaumont, director of corporate and
foundation relations in University Advancement, helps administer
the funds.
"The McGillick Foundation has given so much to Carlow
University, for which we are deeply grateful. Its impact on our
student scholars is recognized campus- wide and goes beyond Carlow.
The trustees are a great group of gentlemen, and it is my pleasure
to work with them," Beaumont said.
Barozzini added, "We've been very satisfied and very
happy with Carlow. In addition to a very detailed report Carlow
sends every year, the trustees also receive many letters from the
McGillick scholars thanking us for the help."
Hundreds of recipients of the McGillick Scholarship
join Carlow in celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the
partnership with the F.E. McGillick Foundation. The McGillick
Scholarship and its trustees are living and sustained proof that
working for the greater good can truly make a meaningful
difference.
By Ann Lyon Ritchie