Family of Livingstone College Sixth President Establishes $1M Scholarship Fund

Dr. Jimmy Jenkins and Rev. Dr. Sheldon Shipman
Livingstone College Presiden, Dr. Jimmy Jenkins receives documentation for the $1M dollar scholarship Fund from Rev. Dr. Sheldon Shipman

By KIMBERLY HARRINGTON


SALISBURY - The family of a former president of Livingstone College made a special presentation at the college’s annual Founder’s Day program that helps STEM students in need.

Dr. Sheldon Shipman, son of the late Dr. F. George Shipman, the sixth president of Livingstone College, announced Feb. 8 that the Shipman family was establishing a $1 million Endowed Scholarship Fund in memory of their father.

In reading the agreement at the program, Sheldon Shipman said the purpose of the scholarship is to award financial assistance to students with demonstrated financial need, and who have shown academic excellence on the campus of Livingstone College, having a minimum 3.0 GPA.

“Recipients of this award must be of sound moral character that mirrors the life of Dr. F. George Shipman, his commitment to scholarship, humanity and service,” he said.

Preference will be given to students from the A.M.E. Zion Church and to students from the Raleigh-Durham area, who are majoring in one of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) disciplines. Candidates who apply for the scholarship and meet the selection criteria will be interviewed by members of the Shipman family – or their designee – for final consideration.

An initial contribution of $250,000 will be transferred to the Livingstone College Endowment with the scholarship being fully funded within five years.

Shipman served as president of Livingstone College from 1969 to 1973. He was also a member of the Livingstone College Class of 1939.

“In 1969, I was a 15-year-old teenager who carried the mace – I was the mace bearer – when my father was inaugurated as the sixth president,” said Sheldon Shipman. I’m 63 years old today and I am the son of the sixth president, 49 years later, presenting you this endowed scholarship in his honor, and we are pleased to do so.”

In May 2016, Livingstone College broke ground on the new F. George Shipman Science Annex Building, named after its sixth president. The annex, expected to be completed this year, will be approximately 16,000 square feet and include labs for biology and chemistry, research spaces and a state-of-the-art planetarium.

“The legacy of Dr. Shipman was sealed with the naming of our Science Annex Building,” said Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins, Sr., Livingstone College president. “Now, it will be further perpetuated in the lives of these scholarship recipients as they earn their degrees and make positive impacts on society because of this generous offering. On behalf of the Board of Trustees and our students, we are grateful to the Shipman family for establishing this endowed scholarship fund.”

About Livingstone College Livingstone College, founded and supported by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, is a private historically black institution located in Salisbury, N.C. Through a Christian-based environment suitable for learning, it provides excellent liberal arts and religious education programs for students from all ethnic backgrounds designed to develop their potential for leadership and service to a global community. For more information, visit www.livingstone.edu.