Published: November 04, 2009 05:59 pm      

Scholarship to honor former UCO liberal arts professor

EDMOND — University of Central Oklahoma alumnus and retired Navy Commander Craig Morin recently established an endowed scholarship in the UCO College of Liberal Arts to honor his former humanities professor, the late Vivian Lanier.

The Vivian Lanier Endowed Scholarship for Humanities was created by Morin to honor the positive impact Lanier had on his life.

Morin had returned to Central after military service. When he re-enrolled at UCO, he experienced some difficulties and it was Lanier who personally intervened to help resolve the issues.

“Mrs. Lanier went above and beyond in everything she did. She was a teacher who had a personal interest in her students, someone who really cared about her students,” Morin said.

Now a successful environmental, safety and occupational health consultant to the petroleum industry, Morin is thankful for the encouragement Lanier gave him and for the positive change she and UCO made in his life.

The Vivian Lanier Endowed Scholarship for Humanities will be awarded annually to one student who is a declared humanities major, has completed 18 hours toward the degree and shows great promise in humanities. Special consideration will also be given to students who have acted as tutors or who plan on going into teaching as a career and students who exhibit an outstanding analytical ability and dedication to the subject matter.

“Commander Morin’s gift created the first endowed scholarship for humanities students,” said Dr. Theresa Vaughan, chair of the Humanities and Philosophy Department.

For more information, contact Lisa Antonelli, development director for the UCO College of Liberal Arts, at 974-5522 or lantonelli@uco.edu.