First Cornel West scholarship award

Jennifer Tejada '10 is the first recipient of the College's Cornel West Scholarship.

Freshman Jennifer Tejada '10, a first-generation college student of Dominican descent, is the recipient of the College's first Cornel West Scholarship.

The scholarship is awarded to one or more underrepresented students who demonstrate a commitment to the exploration of issues of racial injustice, democracy and diversity and dialogue in their admission application. It covers the full institutional grant portion of the student's financial aid award for all four years.

The scholarship was established to honor Cornel West, one of America's leading intellectuals on race and ethnicity and Class of 1943 University Professor of Religion at Princeton University.

The naming of the scholarship coincided with West's visit to the Connecticut College campus last spring during the inauguration of the College's Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity, CCSRE.

Martha Merrill '84, dean of admissions and financial aid, explained that Tejada, a graduate of DeWitt Clinton High School, showed a strong dedication to her community while growing up in the Bronx, N.Y. "In her application, she talked about how she learned a lot about society´s disparities through teamwork and volunteering," Merrill said.

Plans are in the works for Tejada to meet with Cornel West at some point this academic year. "I am so excited to meet him," she said. "It's such an honor."

View video streams from the College's symposium on Cornel West's "Democracy Matters" inaugurating the CCSRE.

- Paul Dryden '07