A Georgia Baptist Institution
Trustee's Generosity Helps Knight Scholarship Fund Reach $100,000 Endowment Level
The generosity of a Shorter College trustee and his wife have helped bring the endowment of the William and Mary Ann Knight Performers Scholarship Competition fund at Shorter College to more than $100,000. Col. and Mrs. Harvard Hopkins donated $24,800, which was matched by the Charles and Carol Lamar Fund of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. These totals, combined with previous gifts from the Lamar Fund and others, bring the total endowment to $103,302.
Col. Hopkins is a member of Shorter College’s Board of Trustees. The Hopkins’ two children are both graduates of Shorter College; son Joe Hopkins graduated in 1988 and daughter Katherine “Katie” Hopkins Markham graduated in 1992. Joe is married to Suzanne Branch Hopkins, who is also a 1988 graduate of Shorter.
In making the gift, Col. and Mrs. Hopkins indicated that they wished to honor the Knights for their positive influence on the Hopkins’ son, Joe. The Hopkins praised William Knight in particular for his inspiration of Joe, who now serves as dean of the Samford University School of Performing Arts.
“Col. and Mrs. Hopkins have been generous supporters of Shorter for many years, and we appreciate their generosity and commitment to the college,” said Shorter College President Harold E. Newman. “This gift to the William and Mary Ann Knight Performers Scholarship Competition fund sets a standard for trustee involvement and is a tangible example of the trustees’ concern for our students.”
In March, the Charles and Carole Lamar Fund of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation made a $25,000 gift toward the endowment of the William and Mary Ann Knight Performers Scholarship Competition. In addition to this gift, the foundation issued a challenge grant, promising to match all additional amounts raised by the college up to $37,500. The Knights both taught piano at Shorter College for more than 40 years. Mr. Knight retired in 2004; Mrs. Knight, still an active member of the music faculty, is in her 42nd year at Shorter.
The gifts will endow future scholarships, which are awarded annually to Shorter College music majors who compete each year in the William and Mary Ann Knight Performers Scholarship Competition, vying for one of two scholarships awarded. There are two rounds of competition with two different panels of judges. The final round, which is open to the public, features finalists in both keyboard and voice; the winners are announced at the end of the evening’s event.
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