As UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski often says, “It’s not about me. It’s about us.” So, it should come as no surprise that when asked how the UMBC community could honor his impact to the university, Dr. Hrabowski shifted the focus to the students – specifically, the establishment of a new endowed scholarship fund at the UMBC Foundation to support student success at UMBC.

Another of Dr. Hrabowski’s favorite quotes comes from his mother, an English teacher, who said “Teachers touch eternity through their students.” Dr. Hrabowski has touched the lives of thousands of UMBC students during his three decades of extraordinary leadership at UMBC. To honor his commitment to our students, the UMBC Foundation will establish the Freeman A. Hrabowski, III Endowment for Student Excellence, a signature program that will increase access and affordability for undergraduate students with financial need and a commitment to community service through need- and merit-based scholarships.

The Freeman A. Hrabowski, III Endowment for Student Excellence will supplement UMBC’s need- and merit-based scholarship resources, profoundly impacting our capacity to recruit new students, and increasing our ability to meet the financial need of students and decrease their long-term university-related debt.

Scholarships will be awarded annually through the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Awards are renewable annually based on students’ continued commitment to their fields of study and appropriate scholarship maintenance requirements.

The UMBC Foundation currently has many named scholarship endowments providing financial support to so many of our students. We are excited for the Freeman A. Hrabowski, III Endowment for Student Excellence to continue increasing the number of students receiving scholarships.

All contributions are administered by the UMBC Foundation, Inc., for the benefit of UMBC.