Texas Pauli Murray Scholarship
The Texas Pauli Murray Scholarship provides financial support for seminarians of color to attend the Seminary of the Southwest. The scholarship was launched in 2018 as a collaboration between St. James’ Episcopal Church in Austin and Seminary of the Southwest. In 2020, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas supported the scholarship as part of its Racial Justice Initiative. Every year, parishes, organizations, and individuals contribute to the Texas Pauli Murray Scholarship as a way to support seminarians and to create a church that expresses the fullest range of our diversity as the Body of Christ.
Pauli Murray scholars receive up to $25,000 per year to help pay the costs of living expenses for themselves and their families. While all students at Seminary of the Southwest receive academic scholarships, this extra funding helps cover the costs of things like rent and utilities, books and required software, health insurance, and child care.
The Texas Pauli Murray Scholarship depends on donations to support our scholars. Gifts help students directly and also help build an endowment to ensure the scholarship is fully funded into the future.
WHO IS
PAULI MURRAY?
The Rev. Pauli Murray (1910-1985), a woman of truly remarkable energy, vision, and accomplishment. She was a pioneer and groundbreaker in many different fields of endeavor, and her life included many “firsts” – including the first African American woman ordained to the Episcopal clergy, a co-founder of the National Organization for Women, and the original author of legal arguments later used to desegregate public schools in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision. The Episcopal Church celebrates her feast day on July 1.