Establishment of the Earl Morse Wilbur Endowed Scholarship Fund

Starr King School for the Ministry is excited to announce that the Rev. Dr. Jay Atkinson is generously starting a new scholarship endowment. His immediate gift will establish the Earl Morse Wilbur Endowed Scholarship Fund, named in honor of the pioneering work of Earl Morse Wilbur (former President of SKSM) on the history of the Polish Brethren. This scholarship fund will provide a scholarship to an SKSM student who has demonstrated a robust interest in UU history, with strong preference given to applicants with an academic focus on the history of the Polish Brethren.

In addition to his immediate generosity, Jay has set up a legacy gift to enrich the fund in the future. In the photos, you will see Jay and President Rosemary Bray McNatt signing the fund agreements to create the new scholarship fund, along with Dean of Faculty, Gabriella Lettini, expressing thanks and appreciation for Jay’s gift.

“I’ve been a supporter of Starr King for quite a number of years and at my age it’s well past time to begin thinking about what I’m going to do with whatever modest assets I have after I’m gone. So, this is part of it. [My] wish is to support Starr King and the second half of it is the wish to encourage scholarship on the Polish Brethren so it’s a dually motivated action,” Jay said.

Rosemary Bray McNatt replied, “I’m just so grateful that you have been this generous to the school. I’m also grateful that you named it after Earl Morse Wilbur. It’s wonderful to think about the possibilities that people are going to have with this. This is such a blessing to the school and to our students. To learn more about legacy giving opportunities, visit www.sksm.edu/legacy.”