NEWS
The Timothy George Scholarship for Excellence Reaches Endowment Goal by Kristen Padilla
Thanks to the generous gifts of alumni, colleagues and friends, the Timothy George Scholarship for Excellence is now fully endowed at just over half a million dollars. According to the scholarship agreement, the divinity school “will have an enhanced ability to attract top-tier students who will guide, challenge and shape future generations of ministers and scholars for Christ’s church throughout the world.” Jamie and Mary French of Birmingham gave to the scholarship because, “Dr. George has been a blessing to so many Christians through his scholarship, preaching and leadership that we want to enable outstanding divinity students to further carry the Christian message to the world.” Beeson's Dean Douglas A. Sweeney gives thanks to God for brothers and sisters in Christ who partner with Beeson in the service of the church. “Timothy George’s legacy in the theological education of pastors and laity is nothing short of immense. But so is the legacy of the board members and other friends of Beeson whose tireless service as laborers in the kingdom of God yielded the funds we needed to reach our funding goal for this scholarship," he said. George, who felt a call to preach as a teenager, would not have been able to pursue graduate studies at Harvard Divinity School had it not been for a generous scholarship he received from the then-called Dora Maclellan Brown Charitable Trust (now The Generosity Trust). As the scholarship’s first recipient, George credits the trajectory of his life to the faithfulness and generosity of Dora Maclellan Brown, a longtime Sunday School teacher at Second Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. “It seems fitting that we would seek to establish a fund in honor of Dr. George that would help other students, now and in the future, who have great minds and great
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Founding Dean Timothy George stands with his wife, Denise, following his last commencement service as dean on May 3, 2019.
spirits to accomplish great things for the kingdom of God,” Samford President Andrew Westmoreland said. Now that the scholarship has reached its endowment goal, it is in the process of gestating according to university policy, with the hope that it will be awarded to its first recipient(s) within the next two years. Alumni and friends can continue contributing to the scholarship, ensuring its sustainability in the years to come by giving online at beesondivinity.com/giving. D