James G Vanderhye Memorial Endowed Scholarship

Purpose:
The Fund is established to provide scholarships to Finance Majors and Marketing Majors attending Metropolitan State University of Denver.

James (Jim) Vanderhye grew up on the south side of Chicago and joined the navy right out of high school. After his navy enlistment, he chose to pursue an undergraduate, then a graduate degree, rather than work as a machinist and laborer. He was the first in his family to graduate college, with a B.S. and MBA from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. After graduation, Jim and his family traveled around the country in a Volkswagen bus and eventually settled in Colorado. Jim started his career in 1969 as a business manager at Metropolitan State College which at the time was a young, fast‑growing urban college. His proudest professional achievement was being a key player in the orchestration of moving a scattered, multi-building college in downtown Denver to a singular campus called Auraria. Over the years, this area grew to eventually house Metro (now MSU Denver) and two other institutions (Community College of Denver and the University of Colorado‑Denver). Eventually, he was promoted to Associate Vice‑President for Business and Finance. Throughout his 19‑year career at Metro, he was dedicated to expanding the educational opportunities for young persons, especially those attending college for the first time in their family’s history and those lacking privilege. Jim believed, just like Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” In addition to being a respected member of the Metro staff, Jim taught racquetball classes, led a group of students and staff on a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon, was president of ZPG (zero population growth), was a member of Kiwanis, and was an election chairman for the Jefferson County republican party. In 1989, Jim retired from Metro but continued to serve students for five years as vice‑president for Administrative Services of Mesa State College (now Mesa State University) in Grand Junction.

Criteria:
• Be meeting the University’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements and cannot be in default or owe any refund/repayment of federal, state or institutional aid.
• Have financial need as determined by FAFSA/CASFA and the University’s Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
• Have a declared major in Finance or Marketing
• Have a class standing of freshman, sophomore, or junior
• Be taking a minimum of 12 credit hours during the semester the scholarship is received
• Not be a previous recipient of the James G Vanderhye Memorial Endowed Scholarship

Preference is for a first-time college student or a Veteran/Military student.
Scholarship is open to DACA/ASSET students
Scholarship is not renewable