Published Feb. 26, 2020
Check presentation and press conference is 4 p.m., Thursday, March 5, at the Laird
Weems Center
The students and citizens of Caldwell Parish have created The Caldwell Parish Morris
Endowed Scholarship with the ULM Foundation. The scholarship will be awarded to a
graduate of Caldwell Parish High School, entering as a freshman at the University
of Louisiana Monroe.
The $25,000 check presentation press conference is at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 5, at
the Laird Weems Center, 4400 Bon Aire Drive at ULM. The public is invited to attend.
In 1986, the class of 1957 of Columbia High School established the Frances Morris
Scholarship Fund in memory of Frances Morris, who was a beloved English teacher at
Columbia High School and later at Caldwell Parish High School. This effort was conceived
and administered by her students Charles Meador and Charles Thompson. Scholarship
funds were in a bank account in Columbia. The first scholarship was awarded in 1987.
In subsequent years, other classes donated to the fund, which increased the principal
and earnings, allowing for more and larger scholarship awards.
By 2019, it had become increasingly difficult to manage the scholarship account and
the application process. After considering several alternatives, Meador and Scott
Meredith agreed to establish the endowed scholarship at ULM to remain in perpetuity
and be administered by the ULM Foundation. Individuals and organizations can make
tax-deductible donations to the scholarship fund principal in honor or memory of individuals
and events. Those donations are payable to the ULM Foundation for the specific benefit
of The Caldwell Parish Morris Endowed Scholarship.
The primary change to the scholarship requires the recipient to attend ULM. Much of
the criteria remain the same to maintain the integrity of the original legacy and
purpose of the fund. Criteria include, in part: high school 3.0 cumulative GPA and
must include a 3.0 GPA in high school English, scholarship awarded to an incoming
freshman who graduated from Caldwell Parish High School, and a full-time student in
good standing with the university.
More information is available on the ULM Foundation website, ulm.edu/foundation. Visit Foundation scholarships and search for Caldwell Parish Morris Endowed Scholarship.
