The Coulter Foundation Scholarship For Colorado History
In memory of a pioneer Colorado mining family, the Viola Vestal Coulter Foundation has established The Coulter Foundation Scholarship in Colorado History at the University of Colorado Denver.
Jesse Coulter, an Irishman armed with a degree in mineral engineering, worked in mines throughout the American West, including Alaska and British Columbia. Starting out as a miner, he rose through the ranks to become a barman, shift boss, foreman and assistant mine superintendent. As the General Superintendent of Operations at the Climax Molybdenum Mine near Leadville, he ran the world’s largest underground mine and Colorado’s most profitable underground bonanza.
Jesse Coulter ultimately became Manager of Western Operations for Climax in the firm’s Denver office and married a college classmate, Viola Vestal. To memorialize the Colorado pioneers and to encourage the study Colorado history, the trustees of the family foundation established this scholarship for graduate and undergraduate students focusing on Colorado history at UC Denver.
Awards
The Coulter Foundation Scholarship in Colorado History will be made annually to cover full tuition, fees and books.
Candidates will be reviewed by The Coulter Foundation Scholarship in Colorado History Committee, composed of representatives from the Coulter Foundation, from UC Denver history faculty, and from the community. The initial administrator of the scholarship committee is Professor Thomas J. Noel of the History Department and Director of Public History, Preservation & Colorado Studies at UC Denver.
Eligibility
The Coulter Foundation Scholarship is available to UC Denver students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate history degree programs. There will be no discrimination due to any applicant’s residency, gender, marital status, creed, ethnicity, color, disability, age or national origin.
The scholarship committee shall consider the following criteria in judging applications:
- academic ability and achievement
- breadth of vision in planning educational and career objectives
- character
- evidence of civic and social responsibility
- financial need
Applicants must be enrolled in history at UC Denver when they apply and when they receive the scholarship. They must meet with the administrator for a preliminary interview, and complete the Coulter Scholarship application form. Recipients are expected to write a one-page report at the end of each academic year explaining how they used the scholarship and how their career is progressing. At that time recipients may reapply for The Coulter Scholarship.
Application
The annual application deadline is typically a date in early March. Check with Professor Tom Noel, or the history department for the specific deadline. Applications are available from the History Department. Or you can download the application (pdf document).