The Trustees of the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust have named Arcadia University a recipient of  a one-year, $110,000 scholarship grant for the 2022-23 academic year. This latest grant follows on the heels of 37 years of consecutive support to Arcadia University students. This year’s grant marks the most significant gift from the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust, representing a 43 percent increase from the year prior. With this most recent grant, the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust has awarded a total of $2.1M in financial aid to Arcadia students since its first grant in August 1978. 
 
“We are grateful for the continued partnership and support of W.W. Smith Charitable Trust and their intentional contribution to student enrollment, retention, and success,” said Brigette A. Bryant, Vice President for Development and Alumni Engagement at Arcadia University. “This increase in funding will allow the University to provide more students with critical financial aid that allows recipients to focus on their academic pursuits.” Most importantly, it helps us to deliver on our vision of cultivating intellectually fearless leaders who are uniquely prepared for life, service, and work.” 

The funding will support full-time undergraduate students at Arcadia who meet specific criteria. W.W. Smith Presidential Scholars must be in good academic standing with a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or better, demonstrate financial need, and reside in the Pennsylvania counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia or in the city of Camden, NJ. The average GPA in recent years has been 3.42.

The W. W. Smith Charitable Trust is a private foundation established by William Wikoff Smith. The Trust is specifically focused on areas involving basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter; supplementing higher education scholarship programs; supporting maritime education/maritime heritage preservation; and basic medical research primarily in Heart Disease, Cancer, and AIDS. With a few exceptions, grants are limited to organizations within Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties as well as the City of Camden, New Jersey.