The Birmingham Scholarship program is recognizing its impact on students that began 75 years ago when it awards this year’s scholarships later this month.
A reception to recognize the 2023 scholars — in addition to any winners from the past 75 years — will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, March 27 at the Montgomery Center at Wylie High School. The program has impacted 790 students, including the 20 winners this year, since its inception in 1948. Past scholarship recipients are invited to attend the March 27 ceremony as well.
The Birmingham Scholarship Fund was first established in 1947 by T.F. Birmingham, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, native acting on the wishes of his deceased sister Pearl Birmingham, who died in 1946. Pearl left 1,000 shares of common stock in the Standard Oil Company of Ohio to fund scholarship awards to graduating Wylie ISD seniors.
A lifelong educator, Pearl worked for the school district teaching first and second grade students. After leaving Wylie to teach in Dallas, she continued impacting the lives of young students in North Texas.
When the scholarship was formed, its charter read “it is the hope and the intention of the donor that this scholarship shall redound to the benefit of the students of the T.F. Birmingham High School of Wylie, Collin County, Texas, from generation to generation even until time shall be no more.”
Harvey Moore, the valedictorian of the Class of 1948 that had only 27 members, received the first Birmingham Scholarship, which paid him a total of $1,000 for four years of a college education. Moore received the payments on a schedule of $25 per month and went on to become an architect.
Over the years, the value of the Standard Oil Company stock shares increased as did the number of seniors, which currently sits around 1,300. The life of the scholarship has seen over $6.2 million awarded to the 790 scholars.
In 1987, the future of the scholarship was in jeopardy because the Standard Oil Company was acquired by BP North America. By that point, Wylie ISD held 24,168 shares with a value of nearly $1.7 million.
For the full story, see the March 15 issue of The Wylie News.
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