Student Resources

The George K. Brannen English Scholars Fund was created by George K. Brannen to foster undergraduate and graduate student scholarship, including travel funds for on-site research or conference presentations. The amount of each individual stipend is not fixed, but depends upon the number of applications.

Stipends will be awarded on recommendations of Literature faculty members and shall be approved by the chair of the Department and/or a review committee empowered to grant the stipends.

The Harbuck Scholarship honors Ally Harbuck, a free-spirited creative writing major from Savannah who died in a traffic accident in 2005 at the age of nineteen, one week before the end of her freshman year at Georgia Southern. She wrote for The George-Anne and was active in the Gay-Straight Alliance and the National Organization for Women on campus. Her parents, Debi and David Harbuck of Savannah, raised the funds to endow the scholarship.

The recipient should be a Georgia Southern rising sophomore, junior, or senior majoring in Creative Writing who has maintained a minimum 3.0 GPA. Professors in the Department of English who have expertise in creative writing nominate the recipient based on samples of writings produced in class. The award should be given on a competitive basis. Previous recipients may submit new work for consideration each year. Winners are announced in fall of each year.

Award: $750

The recipient must be a rising junior or senior (not graduating senior). Preference will be given to a student holding a minimum grade point average of 3.0; if the student has less than an overall GPA of 3.0, the average in the major must be 3.0. Preference is given to a student who is enrolled in ROTC, who is active-duty military, or who is a member of a military family.

Students must be nominated and recommended by an English/Creative Writing or Professional Writing faculty member; nominated students will be notified by the Department of English and asked to submit an essay (double spaced, no more than 4 pages) discussing the value of being a Writing and Linguistics major. This essay must be original and unpublished, and essays will not be returned.

The selection committee for this award will consist of three members of the faculty. The members of the committee should not be ones who recommended a student for the scholarship. Winners are notified in the early summer of each year and formally announced in the fall.

Award: $1000

Established in 2001 by Jim and Elaine Johnson, the Dorothy Smith Golden Scholarship was created to honor the life of Dorothy Smith Golden. Dorothy Smith Golden was an avid supporter of Georgia Southern since 1975. Golden supported efforts such as the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation, scholarships, the Zach S. Henderson Library, and the Center for Irish Research and Teaching. Mrs. Golden began her teaching career at Georgia Southern in 1973 and retired in 1999 as an Assistant Professor Emerita of Writing.

This scholarship is available to students majoring in English/Creative Writing or Professional Writing. Preference will be given to juniors and seniors. Requires a statement of up to 500 words describing why the student is an English/Creative Writing or Professional Writing major.

Award: $1,000 (may vary each year)

Named to honor a Savannah native with a deep passion for Ireland, the Eddie Ivie Scholarship supports Georgia Southern undergraduate and graduate students who take university-approved courses—or conduct university-sanctioned research—on the island of Ireland. The basic award is $1,000; however, in certain years, additional awards are made in the amount of $500 each.

A noted chef and restaurateur, the late Eddie Ivie was a graduate of culinary and hospitality-management programs at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Prior to his untimely death in 2005, he established himself as a leading presence on the Savannah restaurant scene and within that city’s Irish-American community.

Eddie Ivie had a particular affection for the poetry of Patrick Kavanagh, a major twentieth-century Irish writer. Eddie’s parents and friends associate the scholarship that bears his name with lines from Kavanagh’s beautiful lyric, “Pegasus”: My soul was an old horse | Offered for sale in twenty fairs | … | [H]e grew | Wings upon his back. | Now I may ride him | Every land my imagination knew.” Over the years, many fortunate Georgia Southern students have expanded their imaginative purview by studying in Ireland with support from the Eddie Ivie Scholarship.

The scholarship was established in 1988 by Talmadge H. Ramsey Sr., as a tribute to the man who was the embodiment of liberal arts at Georgia Southern for so many years. Dr. Russell began his distinguished 43-year tenure at South Georgia Teachers College in 1932 as dean of men and assistant professor of English. He rose through the faculty ranks to become a full professor, head of the Department of English, and later chair of the Division of Languages. Described by students and colleagues as a true Renaissance man, his guiding influence on academic standards and his passion for learning and life were felt by all who knew him. He retired in 1975 but remained an integral part of the campus and the community until he passed in 1993. Student applicants for the Fielding Russell Scholarship must be majoring in English literature, enrolled full-time during the award period, and maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0.

Available to students who are majoring in English. Students may be in their sophomore, junior or senior year.

Established in 2012, this scholarship is available to juniors, seniors, or graduate students. Preference shall be given to students with a minimum GPA of 3.0, members of Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society, and ROTC/active duty military students. This scholarship was established by Mr. George Brannen, a Georgia Southern alumnus. Mr. Brannen originally graduated from Georgia Southern in 1969, but since his retirement, he has continually re-enrolled and earned multiple degrees and his most recent graduation date at Georgia Southern was 2015.

Named to honor an Irish-American woman with roots in the Dingle Peninsula (Corca Dhuibhne) in Ireland’s southwestern county of Kerry, the Helen Ryan Collins Memorial scholarship provides $1,000 per award. The late Helen Ryan Collins believed in American opportunity and the values of hard work and loyalty to one’s heritage. The award named for her seeks to assist students whose course of study fulfills two requirements: (1) It features significant Irish and/or Irish-American content; (2) It would be enhanced by financial support.

If a student believes that she or he is eligible, the application may be made at any point during the Georgia Southern career, from the freshman year to the senior year—and during graduate school. Applications are accepted from all eligible students, regardless of major or concentration.

Established in 2013, this scholarship was established to memorialize the life of former Armstrong State College professor Dr. James Land Jones. An Oklahoma native, Dr. Jones earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Tulsa, his Master of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University, and his doctor of philosophy from Tulane University. Dr. Jones began his tenure at Armstrong in 1968 as a philosophy, literature, and creative writing professor until his passing in 1986. Outside of teaching, Dr. Jones served as a poet and critic and his work “Adams Dream: Mythic Consciousness in Keats and Yeats” was published in 1975 by the University of Georgia Press. This scholarship is available to junior or senior students majoring in English on the Armstrong Campus.

The Larry Weiss Endowed Graduate Scholarship in Literature was named in memory of Larry Weiss. Lawrence “Larry” Weiss graduated from the Columbia School of Law and became a highly successful lawyer whose firm specialized in intellectual property law. Larry loved the law, but even more than that, he loved the works of Shakespeare. As a young man, he learned by heart the longest speech in the canon. The play he loved above all was “Hamlet.” Upon his untimely death, this scholarship was created to honor Larry and his great love of literature.

Established by the late Dr. David A. Ruffin, the Ruffin Humanities Scholarship seeks to reward excellent students who have an interest in the humanities. Candidates for the scholarship must have declared a major in a humanities discipline, must display an outstanding academic and extracurricular record of achievement, and be of exemplary personal character.

To be considered for the Ruffin Humanities Scholarship, review the eligibility requirements at https://cah.georgiasouthern.edu/students/scholarships/ 

Established in 1999, the Tina Schneider Memorial Scholarship was created by Pat Rice, Tina’s sister, to honor her sister’s life. A Kentucky native, Schneider had relocated to Hinesville, Georgia where she was very active in the community and Liberty County. She served as Executive Vice President of Liberty County Industrial Authority and Chamber of Commerce when she passed. This scholarship is available to junior and senior students majoring in English with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Established in 1982, the Woody Powell Scholarship was created in memory of Dr. Woodrow W. Powell, an outstanding Georgia Southern College faculty member and community leader within the Department of English and Literature. During his life, the late Dr. Powell served as a Lieutenant (junior grade) in the U.S. Navy during World War II. This scholarship is available to full-time students majoring in English.

Membership Requirements

Membership is open to all students, faculty, staff, and alumni who both attend and sign-in to no less than one meeting per semester and abide by workshop etiquette. Membership in the AWC does not exclude members from other clubs, organizations, or Greek societies.

Membership Requirements

Regular meetings of this organization shall be held at a location on Armstrong’s main campus grounds. For information on the next meeting, contact faculty advisor Dr. Tony Morris (tmorris@georgiasouthern.edu).