The Nu Alpha Phi Memorial Scholarship

Professors Chet Jaeger and John Shelton and Oak Leaf editor Chan Hale and publisher Tom Warren conceived of a scholarship dedicated to the memory of those brothers who lost their lives in that great conflict during the waning World War year of 1944, the Nu Alpha Phi Memorial Scholarship.

"Pop" Shelton, the father of four Nu Alpha Phi brothers: Lt. Col. Agee Shelton '32 #103, Major Bob Shelton '32 #104, Lt. Col. Charles Shelton '35 #144 and Major Jack Shelton '41 #220, was an initial contributor and staunch supporter. Another early boost to the fund came from Captain John Blanchard's '32 #99 aunt, Dorothy Douglas, who, named as his beneficiary, donated the proceeds of his GI insurance. While maggot #99 did not survive, memory of him lives on in the Nu Alpha Phi Memorial Scholarship.

Initially committed to the memory of WW II servicemen, the scholarship has become the vehicle by which we memorialize friend and brother. Over the years, funds generated by the various memorial contributions have become sufficient now to provide one full year's scholarship to a worthy recipient.

In December 1944, when the first official mention of the Scholarship appeared in the Oak Leaf, the fund already held $557. It grew rapidly, heroically urged on by editor, Chan Hale, in 1945. The Oak Leaf reported the following growth:

According to the February 1946 Oak Leaf, Nu Alpha Phi notified the college, in a letter to president E. Wilson Lyon dated January 29, 1946, that the first award of the Nu Alpha Phi Memorial Scholarship will be one semester's tuition, $200. [Please, send no letters, that is not a typographic error. --Eds.] The Oak Leaf also reported that while the fund was large enough to produce over $200 annually, its capital growth was too recent to have yielded that much so soon...the fund had only earned $164 in interest. Thus the alumni raised $46 by passing the hat at a cabin meeting prior to awarding the first scholarship in September. [By the way, your current editors are filled with deep respect--no, actually it is awe--for the dedication of Chan Hale, editor, and both Tom Warren and Barbara Kittell, publishers, who produced an Oak Leaf every month during 1945-46! Huzzah!]

The October 1946 issue of the Oak Leaf brought the thanks of Ward P. Popenoe '48, the first recipient of the Nu Alpha Phi Memorial Scholarship.

Dear Mr. Nicholl:

Will you please extend my sincere gratitude to Mr. Shelton and the members of the Nu Alpha Phi Fraternity for the high honor they have bestowed upon me in awarding me the Nu Alpha Phi Memorial Scholarship for the school year 1946-47. I am sure that the significance of the award will be remembered long after the money is gone. I hope that my future actions will justify the confidence placed in me.

Ward P. Popenoe

I've written a note to Ward including a copy of this story and asked for comments on his last sentence. Perhaps he will list his triumphs for us.

The second $5,000 wasn't raised until April 1948, almost two years after the first scholarship was awarded. Today the scholarship fund continues to fund an entire year's tuition for a deserving student.

While contributions to the NAP Scholarship of Pomona College qualify as donations to the Annual Alumni Fund Drive and are tax deductible according to IRS regulations, dues are not recognized by Pomona College (neither are cabin, Wash, and general fund donations). To simplify and speed the accounting process, we request you write a separate check for scholarship donations made out to NAP Scholarship of Pomona College. If your contribution is "In memory of ..." the Alumni Fund sends an acknowledgment to the widow or other next of kin. Combine dues, back dues, cabin, Wash, and general fund donations in a separate check. Send everything, including dues checks, Scholarship checks, letters, and pictures to the same Oak Leaf address listed, as always, on the dues page.