Rachel B. Noel Endowed Scholarship

Rachel B. Noel Endowed Scholarship (NOE02) is established to provide scholarships to qualified students.
A lion of the civil rights movement in Denver, Rachel B. Noel became the first African American elected to the Denver Public School board and the first African American woman ever to serve elected office in Colorado. On April 25, 1968, she presented the DPS board with the Noel Resolution, which asked the superintendent to develop a plan to integrate Denver’s public schools. Under a cloud of threats to Noel and her family, the resolution passed in 1970. The U.S. Supreme Court would eventually echo Noel’s position in its landmark decision of 1973, Keyes v. Denver School District No. 1, making Denver the first city outside the American South to receive instructions by the country’s highest court to address segregation with school busing. Noel came to Metropolitan State College of Denver as a teacher of sociology and African American studies in 1969 and served as chair of the African American Studies Department from 1971 to 1980. A recipient of many distinctions, Noel, who was born in 1918, lived to see many buildings named in her honor. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University, a master’s degree from Fisk University, an honorary doctorate from the University of Denver, an honorary degree in humane letters from the University of Colorado, and an honorary degree from MSU Denver. Her other accomplishments are many.

Criteria:
• Be meeting MSU Denver’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements and cannot be in default or owe any refund/repayment of federal, state or institutional aid
• Be an admitted at MSU Denver and enrolled in at least 6 credit hours
• Have a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or higher
• Be degree-seeking or in a licensure or certificate program at MSU Denver
• Write and submit a required essay of approximately 500 words that addresses the following (which may include past or present participation in Rachel B. Noel events and activities).
• In what ways are you engaged and active in the African-American and Black community? How do those actions promote peace, justice, and compassion for all people? How have you served as an advocate to influence education, diversity, and
equity in the African American and Black community, and/or the community at large? In what ways does/have your coursework and/or academic pursuits at MSU Denver contributed to your community engagement and/or how has your community
engagement affected/impacted/influenced your academic pursuits?
Recipients of this scholarship must have a willingness to participate in MSU Denver’s annual Rachel B. Noel major community event where the scholarship will be awarded.