Scholarships

Published in the upcoming Spring 2025 issue

McClure-Franklin Family Scholarship Endowment

Dr. Geralyn McClure Franklin, '82 and '85, established the McClure- Franklin Family Scholarship to honor the impact SFA has had on her family. Her parents, Gerald C. McClure, '53 and '54, and Marie Little McClure, '53 and '55, met while attending SFA and had long careers in public education.

Franklin graduated from the university and served as a faculty member and administrator for 15 years before retiring in 2014. She met Kenny Franklin while at SFA. The Franklins have one son, Tanner Gerald McClure Franklin, a Nacogdoches attorney.

The McClure-Franklin family hopes to benefit students pursuing a degree in the Nelson Rusche College of Business' departments of business communication and legal studies or management and marketing. Scholarship recipients must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and preference is given to those who graduated from one of the following Texas high schools: Central, Central Heights, Chireno, Cushing, Douglass, Garrison, Martinsville, Regents Academy, Tarkington and Woden.

The inaugural McClure-Franklin Family Scholarship was awarded in fall 2024 to Callie Palmer, a general business major from Woden.

"My parents always viewed SFA as the foundation for their professional and personal successes and have supported it over the years as life members of the SFA Alumni Association and through various donations," Geralyn said. "It was initially a dream and then their full intent for our family to provide an endowed scholarship to support students in achieving their hopes and dreams through higher education, specifically at SFA."

Published in the Spring 2023 issue

Lindsey Nevels Turner Scholarship

Lindsey Turner '04 & '07 graduated from SFA with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies and a master's degree in education with a specialization in early childhood education.

In 2004, Turner began teaching at Huntington Elementary School in Huntington, where she was awarded teacher of the year in 2006. Five years later, she began teaching at Raguet Elementary School in Nacogdoches where she was awarded teacher of the year and district teacher of the year in 2012.

She became the assistant principal of curriculum in 2018, and then she was hired as the early childhood coordinator at Nacogdoches' Nettie Marshall Early Childhood Center in 2022.

Turner also serves as a Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Nacogdoches and is actively involved in other areas of service to the local community. She is married to Trey Turner and is mother to Avery, Sydney and Kennedy.

The purpose of the endowment is to provide an annual scholarship for an academically achieving undergraduate student pursuing any major within the James I. Perkins College of Education.

Published in the Fall 2022 issue

Emily A. Parker Scholarship for high-achieving students

Emily Parker graduated from SFA with a bachelor's degree in economics and finance in 1970. She began as a pre-medicine student before switching to a business degree with a desire to pursue law. After graduating from SFA in three years, she attended Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law.

Parker started her law career with Thompson & Knight by becoming its first female attorney and, later, its first female partner. She is a leader in oil and gas tax litigation and has continued to serve the practice for more than 40 years. In addition to oil and gas, she served as acting chief counsel of the IRS from 2003 to 2004. Parker is the only woman to lead the IRS legal team, supervising more than 1,500 attorneys and overseeing all litigation involving the IRS.

Outside of her profession, Parker also is an asset to her community, dedicating time and expertise to serving in various roles to the American Bar Association's Tax Section. She served as the chair of the Dallas Bar Tax Section and served on the Council of the State Bar of Texas Tax Section in the 1980s. Parker is involved with several nonprofit organizations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, and serves as a founding member of the Women's Foundation of Dallas.

She created the Emily A. Parker Scholarship to benefit academically high-achieving students pursuing any major at SFA. Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA, be in good standing with the university and exhibit high moral character.

Published in the Spring 2022 issue

The Dustin C. Harrison Memorial Scholarship supporting finance and economics majors in the Rusche College of Business was created by Ronnie and Chloe Canaan-Chapman. The scholarship is available to be awarded this spring.

Harrison '18 passed away in March 2021 at age 25.

"At SFA, Dustin was known not only for his impressive accolades but also for his continuous drive to be immersed in the campus community and to become involved with every aspect of the finance department," the Canaan-Chapmans, both 2018 SFA graduates and friends of Harrison, said. "We could not think of a better way to honor and share the gift of his memory."

Harrison graduated summa cum laude with a degree in finance and then worked as an analyst at Ayco Goldman Sachs in Dallas.

Give to the Dustin C. Harrison Memorial Scholarship with an online tax-deductible donation.

Published in the Winter 2021 issue

The Dixie and Paul Kellerhals Scholarship

Dixie Kellerhals graduated from SFA with a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1984 and a master's degree in special education in 1985. Prior to attending SFA, she received a teaching certificate from Iowa State Teachers College in 1957 and taught kindergarten for four years in Iowa Public Schools before becoming a full-time Army wife to Paul in 1964.

When Dixie and Paul's five children were enrolled in school, she began her studies at SFA. After her graduation, she served as an educational diagnostician in the Killeen Independent School District for 11 years before retiring in 2000 to be a full-time grandmother and volunteer with various organizations. Dixie passed away in February 2021.

Paul earned four college degrees: bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Northern Iowa, a master's degree from the University of Central Texas and a doctoral degree from Auburn University. He served as SFA's professor of military science from 1982 to 1986. He spent his early years in the U.S. Army, which he entered in 1954. He served in the demilitarized zone in South Korea before leaving the service in 1956.

In civilian life, Paul was a high school head football and basketball coach and served as an elementary school principal before returning to active Army service in 1964, completing a tour in Germany, two tours in South Vietnam and three tours in South Korea.

He later served as the director of teacher education at the University of Central Texas and retired as a lead education specialist with ECS Region 12 in 2004.

The Dixie and Paul Kellerhals Scholarship will annually support four students enrolled in the James I. Perkins College of Education. All recipients must have a high school GPA of at least 3.0 and have participated in extracurricular activities and worked or volunteered during high school. Previous recipients may reapply and compete for the scholarship up to four years for undergraduates and two years for graduate students under specified criteria.

Published in the Spring 2021 issue

Two sisters, Laura Farley Sanders '82 and Regina Farley Girdner '86, and their husbands, both named Kevin, have established scholarships at SFA.

Kevin and Laura Farley Sanders '82 Scholarship

The Kevin and Laura Farley Sanders '82 Scholarship was established by the couple from Baytown. The scholarship will be eligible in fall 2021 to be awarded to outstanding, full-time students pursuing a major in mathematics in good standing with the university.

Laura received her bachelor's degree in elementary education from SFA. She has worked for Idealease of Houston for 17 years in accounting.

Kevin and Regina Farley Girdner '86 Scholarship

The Kevin and Regina Farley Girdner '86 Scholarship was established by the Girdners of Wolfforth. The scholarship will be eligible to be awarded for the first time in fall 2021, and it benefits outstanding, full-time students pursuing a major in education in good standing with the university.

Regina received her bachelor's degree in education from SFA. She has taught second grade for 24 years, teaching the past 14 years at Bennett Elementary School in Wolfforth.

Published in the Winter 2020 issue

The Celeste Duncan Holt Scholarship

The Celeste Duncan Holt Scholarship was established by her son and daughter-in-law, Larry and Judy Holt of Bryan. The scholarship will be eligible to be awarded for the first time in fall 2021 to students from Shelby County pursuing a major in interdisciplinary studies, in good standing with the university and demonstrating financial need.

Holt began her first semester at SFA in fall 1935. She received her primary of elementary certification in May 1938 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in fine arts in 1952. A native of Shelby County, Holt taught in the Texas public school system for 29 years, including in the Shelby County school system and independent school districts in Snook, College Station and Bryan. She passed away Aug. 13, 2005, at the age of 88.

Published in the Fall 2020 issue

Edgar and Joe Ann Burton Scholarship

 The Edgar and Joe Ann Burton Scholarship is awarded annually to an SFA junior or senior who has declared a major within the College of Liberal and Applied Arts.

Edgar received his bachelor’s degree in history from SFA in 1965. He served as a partner with Burton Eggs for 28 years before joining Brookshire Brothers in 1989 as the director of distribution. In 1991, he was named vice president of distribution operations. In June 2007, he was promoted to senior vice president of property management, a position he retired from in 2010.

During his tenure with Brookshire Brothers, Burton was responsible for the company’s assets, including maintenance, construction, environmental compliance and real estate.

Joe Ann worked in banking for 28 years and retired in 2003.

The couple resides in Lufkin.