History Scholarship Established at UWG

The local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution has given the University of West Georgia a $27,000 gift to establish an annual scholarship for history students.

March, the Casimir Pulaski chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution started a scholarship fund. Shortly afterward, the chapter received anonymous donations for the fund, including one for $5,000 and another for $20,000, said George Wheeless, the chapter president.

“We wanted to support the university,” said Wheeless, who earned his master of education and specialist in education degrees at UWG.

“The university has been a great source for speakers,” Wheeless said. “If they have anything to do with American history, they’ve come and spoken to us at least once, if not more.”

The first $1,200 scholarship will be awarded in 2012-13 academic year to an undergraduate or graduate student in history. The student should have a 3.5 GPA. Preference will be given to students whose research focus is American history and who have a demonstrated financial need.

“This will help students for generations to come. We are very grateful to the chapter for facilitating this gift and, obviously, to the anonymous donors,” said Randy Hendricks, the dean of the College of Arts and Humanities.

“But I think it’s also a sign of the good work that our history department has done for decades,” Hendricks said.

Pulaski was a Polish count fighting Russian and Prussian influence in Poland. He fled to Paris where he met Benjamin Franklin and volunteered to fight in the American Revolution. He is considered the “Father of the American Cavalry.” Pulaski was mortally wounded in the Battle of Savannah in October 1779.

George Washington Exhibit to Open at Ingram Library

The Many Faces of George Washington,” a national traveling exhibition that examines the real-life man behind the myth, opens at the Ingram Library of the University of West Georgia on Aug. 15. This exhibit explores the many different facets of Washington’s life, public service, and leadership. The exhibit closes on Sept. 23.

This panel exhibit examines Washington and his times through color graphics and photographs of iconic objects from the Mount Vernon collection, as well as figures of him in three stages of life that were developed for Mount Vernon through a cutting-edge forensic investigation.

The exhibition will also include a talk by John Ferling, UWG professor of history emeritus and an expert on the American Revolution. Ferling’s talk will be on Aug. 30 at 7:00 p.m. in Ingram Library. Ferling is the author of “The Ascent of George Washington,” “Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the American Revolution” and “The First of Men: A Life of George Washington.” His latest book is “Independence: The Struggle to Set America Free."

In the exhibit, Washington’s life is chronicled in seven sections and includes information on the following: his Virginia childhood and desire to join the British navy at age 14, an eagerness for adventure thwarted by his mother; his bold, decisive risk-taking role in not just one war but two; his relinquishment of power at the end of the Revolutionary War.

Washington’s presidency is placed in context, showing how as the first president of a fragile new nation with an untried form of government, he brought wise decision making to the enormous challenges he faced. Washington received no formal education past the age of 14, yet he built a library to inform his leadership and character and to help shape his vision for the nation. Washington’s life at Mount Vernon is explored as well. The exhibit shows that just as he led the nation as a soldier and statesman, he also led it as an experimental farmer.

The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association in conjunction with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York produced the exhibit. It is supported by a generous grant from the F.M. Kirby Foundation and sponsored locally by Ingram Library’s Penelope Melson Society.

There is no admission charged for the exhibit or exhibit talk. Parking on the UWG campus is unrestricted on Saturdays and Sundays. On the evening of the exhibit talk, special public parking is available at the Townsend Center, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

For more information, visit www.westga.edu/library or contact Catherine Hendricks at chendric@westga.edu or 678-839-5337.