School of Education Announces Chris Collins, S.J., Future Urban Teachers Scholarship

02/01/2022

Saint Louis University’s School of Education is pleased to offer the Chris Collins, S.J., Future Urban Teachers Scholarship. The endowed scholarship will provide tuition support to students in the School of Education who commit to teach in an urban school, with first consideration given to students whose passion is to teach in urban, Catholic schools.

During his time at Saint Louis University, Fr. Chris Collins, S. J., was instrumental in the development of many new initiatives. His passion for social justice and improving the education of urban youth are the core of Fr. Collins’ principles. He was dedicated to creating educational opportunities for vulnerable young people and adults.

“My time at SLU has been dedicated to teaching our faith and creating educational opportunities for those on the margins. That is the mission of our University, the Society of Jesus, and as Catholics. We must commit to providing the personnel and resources to be successful,” said Fr. Collins.

To be considered for the Chris Collins, S.J., Future Urban Teachers Scholarship, students must be enrolled as a full-time, undergraduate student at Saint Louis University and be seeking a bachelor’s degree within the School of Education. They must demonstrate financial need and also maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 to both attain and renew the scholarship. Preference will be given to students who aspire to teach in an urban, Catholic school and who have applied for and received a TEACH grant through the TEACH grant program, a federally-backed program that offers forgivable loans to students who teach in low-income schools for four years post-graduation.

According to John Stiles, Sr. Development Director, "As of February 1, the scholarship has received gifts totaling more than $390,000 from approximately 20 families, and all gifts will be matched by Saint Louis University’s 'Go Further' scholarship match program.”

Gary Ritter, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Education, is grateful for the support provided by Fr. Collins and by the many generous donors. Thanks to this generosity and Fr. Collins’ vision, we can expand upon our support for the region in two critically important ways. 

The School of Education will now be able to recruit and enroll a larger and more diverse group of students from our region who truly care about serving in our region, and supporting Catholic schools. As a result, we will be able to contribute to a stronger teacher pipeline for our urban schools at this critical time.” 

Gary Ritter, Ph.D., Dean

For more information about the scholarship, please contact Saint Louis University’s School of Education at slued@slu.edu or 314-977-3292.