ANN ARBOR—A campus-wide scholarship program for academically outstanding students will begin providing substantial scholarship assistance to selected recipients in September, thanks to a gift from long-time University of Michigan philanthropists Penny and Roe Stamps of Miami.

The $4.4 million donation from the Stamps also will support an endowment for the auditorium on North Campus.

To recognize the long involvement and commitment of the Stamps to the University, the U-M Board of Regents today approved the naming of the Stamps Auditorium, a 460-seat facility under construction on North Campus. The Stamps have made gifts totaling $9.4 million to The Michigan Difference, the University’s $2.5 billion fund-raising campaign. Penny Stamps is a co-chair of The Michigan Difference and a 1966 graduate of the School of Art & Design. Roe Stamps is the founder and managing partner of Summit Partners, a venture capital firm based in Boston.

The Stamps Scholars program will be established with a $3 million expendable gift that will provide annual merit scholarships of $10,000 to high-achieving undergraduates for up to four years. Beginning this fall and extending over a seven-year period, the program will assist 72 students in: the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; the College of Engineering; the School of Art & Design; the School of Music; the Division of Kinesiology and the School of Nursing.

The University, including the affected schools and colleges, will provide additional need-based and merit-based financial aid to the recipients. U-M’s goal will be to match the donors’ gift with money that the University has not previously offered to students for financial aid.

The remaining $1.4 million will provide an endowment to ensure the ongoing maintenance and performance standards of the state-of-the-art Stamps Auditorium, which is attached to the Charles R. Walgreen Jr. Drama Center.

“This visionary gift enables us to reward our finest young scholars with essential financial support, while enhancing Michigan’s wonderful legacy as an institution that prizes academic excellence above all else,” said U-M President Mary Sue Coleman.” By helping to fund one of our newest campus treasures, the Stamps Auditorium, Penny and Roe Stamps play a vital role in providing an outstanding new facility for the University as well.”

“A gift to scholarship is a gift to the entire University community,” said Penny Stamps.” We are delighted to be partners in this endeavor.”

Slated to commence this fall, the Stamps Scholars Program also funds the Stamps Scholars Society to connect students through social events, community service projects, career opportunities, international studies and an annual dinner.

“We are thrilled that we can help Michigan provide this opportunity to these outstanding young students,” Roe Stamps said.

The Stamps’s record of philanthropy to U-M includes the creation of Work, a South State Street gallery to exhibit the work of School of Art & Design students; the Penny W. Stamps Distinguished Visitors Program that brings acclaimed artists to campus for lectures and interactions with students; the Stamps Family Scholarship Program; and the Roman J. Witt Visiting Professorships, named for Penny Stamps’s father. The School of Art & Design recently named the Stamps Studios for undergraduates to recognize the couple’s support. The Stamps also provided funding for the Stamps Student Commons in the newly completed Stephen M. Ross Academic Center.

In addition to co-chairing The Michigan Difference Campaign, Penny Stamps also serves on the President’s Advisory Committee and is chair of fund-raising for the School of Art & Design and chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council at the School of Art & Design.

Penny Stamps Distinguished Visitors ProgramWork GalleryThe Michigan Difference