Two students honored at HPU's annual Sumners Scholars Banquet

May 1, 2017 at 4:15 pm brownwoodnewsstaff

HPU Press Release – Two seniors from Howard Payne University’s Guy D. Newman Honors Academy were honored recently during the annual Sumners Scholars Banquet. The students, who were selected during their junior year as Hatton W. Sumners Foundation Scholars, were awarded plaques and expressed gratitude for the opportunities provided them by the foundation.

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Carrie Leach of Hurst, graduating in December, and Sydney Spencer of Georgetown, graduating in May, have each completed four semesters as Sumners Scholars.

The highly competitive and prestigious Sumners Scholar program offers students the chance to attend special lectures, seminars and conferences featuring world-renowned leaders from both public and private sectors. It also provides a generous scholarship of $7,500 per semester for two years. Students are selected after an in-depth application and interview by the trustees of the Sumners Foundation.

Named for its founder, former Congressman Hatton W. Sumners of Texas (Democrat, 1912-1947), who served as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation is dedicated to the study, teaching and promotion of self-government.

“HPU is extremely grateful to the Sumners Foundation for its support of HPU and higher education,” said Dr. Matthew McNiece, chair and professor of history and government and director of the Academy. “These students have demonstrated academic excellence, civic responsibility and leadership potential, qualities prized by both the Sumners Foundation and the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy.”

For more information about the Sumners Scholars program at HPU, visit www.hputx.edu/sumners.

Applications for admission are still being accepted for the fall 2017 semester at Howard Payne University. HPU offers a variety of financial aid options including the Heart of Texas Scholarship, which awards $60,000 to students from Brown County and surrounding counties. For more information about HPU, contact HPU’s Office of Admission at 325-649-8020 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Pictured: HPU Sumners Scholars Sydney Spencer, front left, and Carrie Leach, front right, were honored during the university’s annual Sumners Scholar Banquet. They are pictured with representatives from the Sumners Foundation, from left, Dale Crane, trustee; Hugh Akin, executive director; and David Drumm, chairman of the Board of Trustees.