Three seniors from Howard Payne University’s Guy D. Newman Honors Academy were honored recently during the annual Sumners Scholars Banquet. The students, who were selected during their junior year as Hatton W. Sumners Foundation Scholars, were awarded plaques and expressed gratitude for the opportunities provided them by the foundation.
The Sumners Scholars included Samuel Hoffman of Corpus Christi, Caleb Michael McConnell of Burleson and Ivyanne Nichols of Richardson. McConnell will graduate in May while Hoffman and Nichols are scheduled to graduate in December.
The prestigious Sumners Scholar program offers students the chance to attend special lectures, seminars and conferences featuring world-renowned leaders from both public and private sectors. It also provides a generous scholarship of $6,000 per semester for two years. Students are selected after an in-depth application and interview by the trustees of the Sumners Foundation.
Named for its founder, former Congressman Hatton W. Sumners of Texas (Democrat, 1912-1947), who served as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation is dedicated to the study, teaching and promotion of self-government.
Dr. Matthew McNiece, chair and associate professor of history and government, serves as assistant director for the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy.
“The Sumners Scholars program is an amazing benefit for our students,” he said. “HPU is very grateful to the foundation for taking an interest in our students and providing them with these outstanding opportunities.”
For more information about the Sumners Scholars program at HPU, visit www.hputx.edu/sumners.
Applications are still being accepted for the fall 2016 semester at Howard Payne University. HPU offers a variety of financial aid options including the Heart of Texas Scholarship, which awards $60,000 to students from Brown County and surrounding counties. For more information about HPU, contact HPU’s Office of Admission at (325) 649-8020 or by e-mail at enroll@hputx.edu.
Pictured are Samuel Hoffman, Ivyanne Nichols, Sumners Foundation Trustee Dale Crane, and Caleb Michael McConnell.