Scholarship Fund Marries Middlebury to United World Colleges

Author: Samuel Wilson

As a part of the Middlebury College Board of Trustees' meetings this past weekend, an original documentary about the United World Colleges (UWC) was screened for the Trustees on Thursday night.
The UWCs are ten boarding schools located on five continents in locations stretching from New Mexico to Swaziland. Every graduating class includes UWC alumni who attend colleges and universities all over the world, including many at Middlebury College.
Shelby Davis, a philanthropist and the founder and CEO of Davis Selected Advisers, a mutual fund and money management firm, created the Davis Scholarship Fund three years ago.
This fund will pay for all of the need-based financial aid for any graduate from the UWCs who attends Colby College, College of the Atlantic, Princeton University, Middlebury College, or Wellesley College.
"It's astounding, nothing short of astounding. As far as I know this is the largest international financial aid on the planet," Middlebury Dean of Enrollment Planning Mike Schoenfeld said.
The fund also provides aid to high school students wishing to attend the UWCs. American citizens and permanent residents are eligible to apply for it. Fifty students are selected on the basis of academics, character and commitment to community service. This section of the fund will pay two years of tuition, room and board at any of the UWCs.
The fund is open-ended; currently no plans exist to end the scholarship.
Davis chose to offer financial support to students at those particular institutions because of his connections with those schools. He is a graduate of Princeton University, while his children attended Colby College and Middlebury College respectively. His mother graduated from Wellesley College, and he has lived near the College of the Atlantic.
"[Davis] is a wonderful man and is committed to the United World Colleges and helps them in a number of ways," Middlebury Associate Director of Admissions Barbara Marlow said.
Davis believes that in the first third of a person's life he or she learns; in the middle third of the life he or she earns, and in the final third of life he or she should return.
This personal philosophy has guided him through his life and has led him to create the Davis Scholarship Fund.
Davis began his relationship with the UWCs in New Mexico. The Armand Hammer UWC of the American West is located there, as well as an office of Davis Selected Advisers. Davis met the president of that school, Dr. Phillip O. Geier, Ph. D., in New Mexico. Through his friendship with Geier and his exposure to the school, the idea for the fund came naturally to Davis.
The UWCs were first established in 1962. Currently, the president of the colleges is Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan. Former South African President Nelson Mandela is the President of the UWCs International Council.