Late MSU professor establishes endowment for Eagle English students
The late Dr. Rose Orlich spent 22 years as a professor of English at Morehead State University. She will continue to add to her legacy of impacting the lives of MSU English students with the establishment of the Dr. Rose Orlich Scholarship Endowment.
"The MSU Foundation is honored that Dr. Orlich chose to support scholarships for MSU students through her estate plans," said Jim Shaw, vice president for University Advancement and CEO of the MSU Foundation. "These scholarships will support students in the English department for generations to come."
A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Orlich taught for more than 42 years at various levels in both the private sector and higher education. She joined MSU in 1970 and taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses in literature and writing, as well as for the MSU Honors Program. She was also an award-winning poet with two published books of poetry. She retired from the University as professor emerita in 1992 with the Distinguished Teacher Award. She passed away in March 2016 at the age of 88.
Orlich’s scholarship was agreed upon between the executor to Orlich’s estate, Paul Stokes, and the MSU Foundation, Inc. Recipients of the scholarship will be financially eligible, full-time undergraduate students majoring in English who have maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. It is renewable until the recipient’s fourth year of undergraduate study if the required GPA and full-time status are maintained.
Kathryn Mincey (73, 74), a former student, graduate assistant and later colleague of Orlich's as a professor of English at MSU, said establishing this scholarship endowment was a gesture that reflected Orlich’s heart for MSU and the people the institution serves.
“Her credentials were without question, but it was her moral character,” Mincey said. “She was one of the few people that, as I was coming up, was the conscience of the Department of English. Keeping our values where they should be...serving students first.”
To make a gift to MSU's scholarship funds, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/giving or call 1-800-783-ALUM. For more information on scholarships, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/scholarships.
