ANN ARBOR—Three recent Michigan high school graduates are this year’s recipients of the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) Bentley Scholarship—the college’s most prestigious scholarship awarded to in-state students. Four others received LSA Merit Scholarships.

The Alvin M. and Arvella D. Bentley Scholarship is one of the most competitive scholarships offered at U-M. Each year, it is awarded to first-year students with demonstrated exceptional scholastic and civic achievement. The Bentley Foundation awards $30,000 (or $7,500 per year) over four years to each student and they also receive an LSA Merit Scholarship of $10,000 over four years ($2,500 per year).

Recipients also become members of the Bentley Society, which entails first choice of residence hall, automatic admission to the Honors Program, admission to either the Residential College or Lloyd Hall Scholars Program, if desired, and an annual fall Bentley Society luncheon. Four semifinalists become members of the Bentley Society and will receive $30,000 in LSA Merit Scholarships over the course of four years ($7,500 per year).

The three 2004 Bentley scholars enrolled at U-M this year are Andover High School graduate Alexandra Leigh Mitter of West Bloomfield, Goodrich High School graduate Klementina Xhemal Sula of Grand Blanc, and Community High School graduate Mary Anne Hennessey of Ann Arbor.

The four semifinalists, also attending U-M this year, are Mio-AuSable High School graduate Mary Elizabeth Braun of Mio, Okemos High School graduate Christopher Thomas Detjen of Okemos, Wylie E. Groves High School graduate Matthew James Owens of Bloomfield Hills, and Kingsley High School graduate Suzanna Karyn Sedlacek of Kingsley.

Alvin M. Bentley III graduated from U-M in 1940, and spent most of his life in public service supporting civil rights and improvements in higher education. He devoted the early part of his career to the United States diplomatic corps as Foreign Service Officer in Mexico, Colombia, and Hungary from 1941 to 1950 before serving four terms in Congress as an 8 th District Representative. Bentley was a member of the U-M Board of Regents from 1966 until his death in 1969. His wife, Arvella “Billie” Bentley, was a trustee on the board of Nazareth College and the Hawaii Preparatory Academy, and served as a member of the Friends of the Bentley Historical Library. The Bentley Historical Library at UM was completed in 1972 with a gift from the Bentley family.

The LSA Merit Scholarship program has been rewarding some of the LSA’s most outstanding first-year students since 1986. Approximately 70 scholarships are available each year, and many of the LSA Merit Scholarships are made possible through the generous gifts from donors to the college.

sard@umich.edu

Bentley Historical Librarysard@umich.edu