The Greenbelt News Review will be matching all donations, up to a total of $5,000, made to the University of Maryland’s Virginia W. Beauchamp Scholarship through March, Women’s History Month.
This scholarship is named in honor of University of Maryland Professor Emerita Virginia Beauchamp, who founded the university’s Department of Women’s Studies in 1975. She was also a leading member of the Greenbelt News Review for more than 60 years and an advocate for the community.
“She was a feminist and a tireless volunteer for Greenbelt in Greenbelt,” said University of Maryland Campus Club President Sarah Bourne.
Bourne met Beauchamp in the 1960s. They were both members of the Prince George’s County Historical Society and strong proponents of the Equal Rights Amendment. Throughout their long history, Bourne said she always viewed Beauchamp with a great deal of respect.
A Greenbelter at heart, Beauchamp served on the Women’s Action Coalition of Prince George’s County and the Prince George’s County Commission on Women from 1990 to 1993. Admired and recognized for her work in elevating women’s issues, Beauchamp was inducted into the Prince George’s County Women’s Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame in 2003.
The Beauchamp Scholarship, which was conceived by the Campus Club in 2016, has provided annual need-based awards of $750 since its creation for graduate students in the Department of Women’s Studies.
So far, nearly $15,000 of the $25,000 endowment goal has been reached. Once endowed, the Beauchamp Scholarship will live in perpetuity to support generations of students. The fund must reach $25,000 by June 30, 2021, in order to become an endowed scholarship.
Norah Quinn McCormick, assistant director of development for the College of Arts and Humanities at UMD, said that reaching this goal is absolutely essential in ensuring the Beauchamp Scholarship becomes a “life-sustaining giving vehicle” and has the potential to grow.
“This scholarship is meant to aid students who are pursuing women’s studies at the graduate level and really committed to the study of women’s issues,” Quinn McCormick said. “In a way, these students are following in Virginia’s footsteps and this will only take them farther along that path.”
In light of Women’s History Month, and the deadline for giving to this scholarship quickly approaching, the News Review is calling upon its readers to help the Beauchamp Scholarship reach its endowment goal. Dollar for dollar, the News Review will match all donations up to a total of $5,000.
A mother, co-worker, leader and friend, Virginia Beauchamp gave so much to her community. The News Review staff believes that through this series of stories, we will be able to call upon the community to open their hearts and give something to honor her.
This article is part one of a three-part series meant to honor Virginia Beauchamp’s life and her legacy. Information on how to give to the Beauchamp Scholarship can be found in the advertisement on page 7 [March 5, 2020 News Review].