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Alma Shippy Memorial Scholarship

Remembering a quiet revolutionary

Once upon a time on the campus of Warren Wilson College in the quiet, beautiful Swannanoa Valley on a late summer day in 1952, Alma Shippy stepped out of a friend's pick-up truck onto campus to begin school. Many WWC students have done just that, but Alma's quiet step onto campus was a huge footprint in history.

Coming to school that first day like any other, Alma and WWC broke the racial divide in the old Confederacy as one of the first undergraduate institutions to desegregate. No police or National Guard were present for protection and escort. There were no court orders to mandate desegregation because this happened a full two years before the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. Instead, there was just a college community that wanted to see an injustice righted and a friend who many knew--Alma--brave enough to take the chance.

In his memory, the Alma Shippy Memorial Scholarship will commemorate his legacy of making Warren Wilson an inclusive and diverse community. Started by his friends and classmates, the scholarship will give today's WWC students an opportunity to attend Warren Wilson who might not otherwise have the chance because of their financial situation.

An anonymous donor generously offered to match all gifts, up to $12,500, to help bring this scholarship to reality. As of Homecoming 2008, our goal of $25,000 was met. As soon as pledges are received, the Alma Shippy Memorial Scholarship will be fully endowed. Students with documented financial need and who bring diversity to campus will be eligible to receive about five percent of this endowment each year. Alma Shippy will be remembered and celebrated at Warren Wilson College forever. We ask for your continued financial support for this scholarship because the greater the endowment, the greater the available amount for students each year.

If you would like to support this scholarship: