An annual scholarship designed to promote awareness

The untimely and horrible death of Matthew Shepard on October 12, 1998, gave us all reason to pause and reflect upon the nature of the society in which we find ourselves today. That ours is a society containing individuals such as those responsible for the death of Matthew is deeply disturbing. The only antidote to such ignorance and hatred is education. It is in that spirit that the Matthew Shepard Memorial Scholarship was established.

The purpose of this endowed scholarship is multiple. We want not only to educate individuals about issues concerning the rights of gay, lesbian and bisexual persons, but we also want to help to bring about an atmosphere of support and nurturing for students at Weber State University who identify themselves as other than heterosexual. With that in mind we have set up the Matthew Shepard Memorial scholarship which will serve to help sexual minority students--as well as students who openly support gay, lesbian or bisexual issues--fulfill their educational goals so that they too might continue to educate others.