Starr King Institutional Tuition Scholarships

Starr King Institutional Tuition Scholarships are funded through annual gifts given by friends of the School and through endowed scholarship funds. The endowed scholarship funds have been established in honor of beloved mentors and forebears. In making awards, the Scholarship Committee endeavors to match recipients with the interests and commitments of those honored.

• The Josiah and Laile Bartlett Tuition Scholarship honors the memory of Josiah Bartlett, Starr King’s former dean and president (during the 1950s and 1960s), and Laile Bartlett, a sociologist of religion.  As partners in ministry and life, the Bartletts shaped Starr King’s progressive educational values and practices still in evidence today including personalized programs of study, student-centered learning, student involvement in the governance of the School, and the creative interaction of religion and the arts.  After serving as Starr King’s president, Dr. Bartlett pioneered the creation of the Unitarian Universalist interim ministry program.
• The William Smythe Boyd, III Tuition Scholarship was established by Miriam Boyd Gray in 1948 in memory of her father for the “education and training of men in the ministry.”
• The Cutten Family Tuition Scholarship was established in 2006 by Merrit Cutten to honor his parents and the legacy of ministerial leadership his family experienced as members of the First Unitarian Society of San Francisco.
• The Mark DeWolfe Tuition Scholarship honors the memory of Mark DeWolfe, a 1981 Starr King graduate who died from AIDS shortly after graduation.  His parents began the endowed scholarship.
• The Aron and Eve Gilmartin Tuition Scholarship established in 1989 by members of the Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church honors the memory of Eve Gilmartin who served as an active lay leader for many years and Aron Gilmartin who served a lifetime in the UU ministry and was an inspiring exemplar of religious leadership for racial equality and social justice.
• The Raymond and Betty Goodman Tuition Scholarship was established in 2004 by Dr. Ray Goodman, a devoted Unitarian Universalist, who notes, “I would not have been able to attend college and medical school without such aid and consider it a gift to myself to be able to do this for others.”
• The Arnold and Ariel Grace Tuition Scholarship was established by William A. Grace to honor his parents.  Arnold Grace attended Wentworth Institute, was a WWII Army veteran and worked at George Junior Republic as a plant engineer for 48 years.  The award is for returning 2^nd through 4th-year students.
• The Gail Hamaker Tuition Scholarship was established in 1987 by her family for a ministerial student with financial needs who is interested in some aspect of women and religion.
• The J. Henry Hanhisalo Tuition Scholarship is for a student with financial need who wishes to incorporate music into their ministry. It honors the memory of Rev. Hanhisalo, a Universalist minister of Finish descent who served in New England.
• The David and Norma Lewis Tuition Scholarship provides full tuition for as many students as possible. David Lewis was a former Board member of SKSM. David and his wife Norma were committed to giving back as generously as they could in their life and beyond, including to the UUA, UUSC, UUCMP, and Starr King. “Our father’s spirit of generosity stemmed from his sense of ethics and justice,” his three children described. “There is no better memorial to Dave and Norma Lewis,” his children wrote, “than to offer assistance to students to pursue their dream of an education that allows them to work for social and economic justice – to counter oppressions and create just communities.”
• The Charles and Hilda Mason Tuition Scholarships, established by a bequest from the Masons, are awarded in honor of Charles and Hilda, members of All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington D.C. who were leaders in civil rights, social justice work, grass-roots education, black empowerment, and more. Hilda Mason served as a trustee of Starr King School and was renowned for her bold leadership as a member of the City Council for the District of Columbia.
• The Gordon and Phyllis McKeeman Tuition Scholarship was established in 2002 for a student with a particular interest in Universalism who plans to enter parish ministry.  The Rev. McKeeman served churches in Ohio and Massachusetts, then served as President of Starr King from 1983-88. Phyllis McKeeman has been active in UU church life and leadership for decades.
• The Rosamond Reynolds Tuition Scholarships are awarded in memory of Roz Reynolds, artist, friend, and mentor to many Starr King students.  She served as a trustee of Starr King and led the 1980’s campaign to establish the Aurelia Henry Reinhardt endowed professorship to secure a feminist voice and presence on Starr King’s faculty.
• The Harry B. Scholefield Tuition Scholarship honors the memory of Rev. Harry Scholefield, minister emeritus of the First Unitarian Church of San Francisco which he served from 1957-1973.  Beloved mentor, he taught many ministers and ministerial students to memorize poetry as a spiritual practice.  Rev. Scholefield was active in civil rights and peace movements; he received the Adin Ballou Grassroots Peace Award from the UU Peace Fellowship in 1986.
• The Jacob Trapp Tuition Scholarship is awarded in memory of Jacob Trapp, who graduated from the Pacific Unitarian School (now Starr King) in 1929 and served for a lifetime in the Unitarian Universalist ministry.  Author of many hymns, and a down-to-earth explorer of prayer, meditation, and the mystical aspect of the religious, Jacob Trapp has been acknowledged as one of the principal contributors to the creative evolution of UU liturgy.
• The John Weston Endowed Fund for Humanist Studies was established in 2019 by a gift from Rev. John H. Weston. Its purpose is to promote the study of humanism, including its history within Unitarian Universalism and the wider world, and the continuing role it can play in contemporary congregations.
• The Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt Endowed Scholarship honors the many years of dedicated service to Starr King by our current president – Rosemary Bray McNatt – who has led the school successfully through a myriad of changes during her tenure.
• The Leah Ongiri Endowed Scholarship is funded by Starr King graduate Rev. Cassandra (Cassie) Howe and represents an important milestone for the school: it is the first time a scholarship has been established by a Starr King graduate in honor of a fellow Starr King graduate.
• The Rev. Dr. Natalie Maxwell Fenimore Scholarship was established by beloved Starr King supporter Rev. Edward (Ned) Wight for the purposes of honoring the Rev. Dr. Natalie Maxwell Fenimore for longtime service to Unitarian Universalist congregations and institutions.
• The Rev. Drs. Marilyn and Robert Adams Scholarship was established in 2024 by Rev. Dr. Everett Howe and his spouse, Dr. Isabella Furth, and honors the late Rev. Drs. Marilyn and Bob Adams for whom love was at the center. This scholarship supports Universalist Studies.
• The Rev. Dr. Everett Howe and Dr. Isabella Furth Scholarship was established in 2024 by Rev. Dr. Everett Howe and Dr. Isabella Furth. During Everett’s journey to becoming a Unitarian Universalist minister, the couple met many people who would have liked to attend a seminary with a multi-religious justice-centered curriculum, but who couldn’t due to financial reasons. They created this scholarship to make a seminary education possible for those who want to serve their communities in justice and spirituality.

Merit and Incentive Scholarships

Starr King offers a number of Merit and Incentive Scholarships to students who show special promise based on their academic record, achievements as activists or religious leaders, or their distinctive commitments, religious affiliation and/or goals, or who meet specific criteria.

• The John Buehrens Scholarship is awarded as a merit grant by the President of Starr King to an entering student with financial need who is judged to have “the highest academic achievement and intellectual promise, as well as outstanding potential for effective ministry.” In addition, the UUA selects a second or 3rd- year student to receive the second Buehrens scholarship. (While the entering student recipient of this scholarship is selected by the president of SKSM, funding comes from the endowment at the UUA. The funds will arrive as a check directly to the student recipient from the UUA with half of the funds in the fall semester and half in the spring semester.)
• The Olympia Brown Scholarships are awarded as incentive grants to students who advance Starr King’s commitment to theological education that engages underrepresented constituencies and historically marginalized groups.  Olympia Brown was the first woman ordained to the Universalist ministry and one of the earliest women ministers in the U.S.
• The Earl K. Holt III Scholarship is awarded as a merit grant to a single recipient, with a strong commitment to parish ministry, and hopefully with a particular interest in Unitarian history and the Puritan-congregational tradition.
• The St. Lawrence Tuition Scholarships are funded by a gift from the St. Lawrence Foundation to provide financial aid to two students annually who are in candidate status for Unitarian Universalist ministry.
• The Balazs Scholarship provides tuition and living expenses to enable a Unitarian minister from Transylvania to study for a year at Starr King.  The Balazs scholar is selected by the Unitarian Church in Transylvania.  The Balazs Committee supports the Balazs scholar and also arranges, as funds are available, for Starr King Students to do fieldwork in Transylvania.
• The Hilda and Charles Mason Teaching Fellowships are awarded to students who have submitted a proposal that has been approved by the Curriculum Committee to teach a course at Starr King, in a congregation, or in the community