NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Qualified students from Arkansas will have the opportunity to attend Vanderbilt University on scholarship, thanks to a special fund set up by the late Arkansas state Sen. Robert Harvey, who held two Vanderbilt degrees.
Harvey, who died in 2001, established through his will the Robert Harvey Honor Scholarship Fund in the College of Arts and Science, which will provide a full-tuition scholarship for an incoming freshman to attend Vanderbilt beginning the fall in 2003. The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding incoming freshman applicant to the College of Arts and Science from Arkansas, with preference given to students from Harvey’s home county of Jackson.
Known for his frugality and integrity, Harvey retired from the Arkansas General Assembly in 1979 after having served 32 years.
Harvey, known as the “Sage of Swifton,” received a bachelor of arts from Vanderbilt in 1937 and a law degree in 1939. He served in the U.S. Army infantry during World War II, then came home to practice law and tend to his family’s farm in Swifton. In 1946 he was elected to the Arkansas House and a decade later to the state Senate. In 1979 he surprised Arkansans when he announced his retirement, citing his health and a growing belief that he was no longer able to help stem the tide of government spending.
Providing financial aid to students was a priority throughout his career. In 1978 he was honored by the Arkansas Council of Independent College and Universities for his “leadership in expanding the opportunity for young people of Arkansas,” specifically for his role in establishing the State Scholarship Program.
Throughout his life, Harvey made his allegiance to Vanderbilt known, said his cousin, Sam Boyce of Newport, Ark. “His true love was Vanderbilt. If he talked to you, he wanted to talk to you about Vanderbilt,” Boyce said. Harvey, who lettered in track at Vanderbilt, was a faithful Vanderbilt football fan, traveling to Nashville for games as long as his health permitted.
For information about the Harvey Scholarship or admission to Vanderbilt University, write or call the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Media contact: Elizabeth Latt, 615-322-NEWS, >liz.latt@vanderbilt.edu</a>