After failing to award one of five Trinity Scholarships last year, program director Don Taylor said he will be making a renewed effort to locate eligible candidates this year.
The University typically awards between three and five Trinity Scholarships, which include funds for full tuition, fees, room and board and summer study, work, service or travel experiences.
Last year's problem resulted from the criteria of one of the Trinity Scholarships that required the awarded student be a resident of Guilford County and show "substantial financial need", said Taylor, an assistant professor of public policy.
The program looks for students with high academic ability and a demonstrated affinity for leadership and community service, he said.
The scholarships are funded by donors who determine the qualifications for selection, which often include criteria such as geographic region and financial need. A different donor endows each Trinity scholar for his or her four years at Duke.
"The Trinity that we could not give away last year had to meet all those criteria plus have what was termed 'substantial financial need,'" Taylor said. "That was where the problem came about. We had several kids [from Guilford County] we might have been quite happy to give the Trinity to, but they had no demonstrated financial need."
Taylor added that part of the problem is that not enough students apply for financial aid, including students who may have qualified for the extra Trinity last year had they filed for aid.
"If you're from North Carolina, it makes sense to go ahead and fill out the financial need form even if you think there's absolutely no chance because most of the people who think there's no chance are probably wrong," he said.
In order to ensure that all of next year's Trinity Scholarships are awarded, Taylor said he hopes to increase awareness of both the scholarships and Duke's Financial Aid Initiative, adding that he is in close contact with high schools that have produced past Trinity scholars.
Freshman Molly Walsh raised concerns about failing to award the scholarship at all.
"It seems like they could at least have offered the scholarship to someone, regardless of whether they needed financial aid," she said. "The scholarship is a lot more than just money. It is frustrating to see those resources go to waste."
Taylor, however, stressed the importance of awarding the Trinity scholarships to students with financial need.
"I think identifying students with financial need is keeping with the purpose of the University and the desire of the scholarship," he said. "We would rather redouble our efforts and try to make sure we don't have that problem in the future as opposed to go back and try to get the [donors] to change away from a desire to benefit kids with financial need."
The program intends to give away four Trinity scholarships this spring, including one for Greensboro, N.C., one for Guilford County and two others open to all of North Carolina.
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