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Inaugural Ruth B. Loving Scholarship Awarded

Dec 04, 2024

On December 4 at the UMass Amherst Henry M. Thomas III Center at Springfield, the UMass Amherst University Without Walls Department of Interdisciplinary Studies formally awarded the first-ever Ruth B. Loving Scholarship to Paris Brantley, with both families attending along with faculty and staff.

Beloved and renowned as the Mother of Civil Rights in Springfield, Massachusetts, Ruth B. Loving dedicated her life to social justice and community activism, and was a powerful force to be reckoned with until her death at age 100. In 1988, at the age of 73, she earned her bachelor’s from UMass Amherst through the University Without Walls with a concentration in community education.

The Ruth B. Loving Scholarship honors and carries forward the legacy of this accomplished and influential alumna by providing support for a socioeconomically disadvantaged UWW Interdisciplinary Studies student who demonstrates financial need and is in good academic standing. Preference is given to a student living in Hampden County, Massachusetts, and fundraising for the scholarship began in 2018. Diane Petaway, Ruth's niece, and Ronnie Stewart, Ruth's great nephew, attended the award ceremony. "Ron, I, and the family very much appreciate the University of Walls Department of Interdisciplinary Studies honoring my Aunt Ruth with a scholarship in her name. We so enjoyed the festivities, and it was lovely meeting the young lady who received it as well as the staff. This was truly an honor," Petaway said.

A forty-one-year-old teacher and mother of four who hails from Springfield, Massachusetts, Paris Brantley now teaches at the Care Center in Holyoke, where she previously earned her associate degree from Bard College. She is completing her bachelor's degree online in interdisciplinary studies and designing her own area of concentration in social justice, advocacy, and education through filmmaking, with plans to open a school in honor of grandmother. She attended the ceremony with her mother and four daughters. "Paris exemplifies and embodies the work and values Ruth B. Loving brought to her social justice and community engagement work in Springfield, and we celebrate and honor her with this scholarship award," said Interdisciplinary Studies Department Chair Julie Skogsbergh.

"There are so many best parts about being a UWW student," said Brantley, "one being that I am surrounded by professors, peers, and people who understand and have walked a similar journey. The flexibility and compassion, and best of all, the fact that the life experience I have already lived can count towards degree credit."

The University Without Walls Department of Interdisciplinary Studies has helped adults and nontraditional students finish their bachelor's degrees since 1971, and is the top-ranked online bachelor's degree in New England.

The UMass Amherst Henry M. Thomas III Center at Springfield embodies UMass Amherst’s commitment to cultural and economic equality and opportunity in Springfield. UMass Amherst is committed to bringing more of UMass to the Springfield community and more of Springfield to UMass.

 

University Without Walls scholarships exist thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends.