USN Receives $2 Million Scholarship Grant

Outstanding students in the Nashville area will have an opportunity to compete for scholarships to a nationally recognized independent school as a result of a recent $2 million endowment gift to University School of Nashville (USN), the largest in school history.

The grant comes from the Malone Family Foundation, founded by cable television entrepreneur John Malone and based in Englewood, Colorado. USN is one of four schools in the nation chosen this year by the foundation to receive the endowment grant, designated for outstanding students with financial need in grades 7-12.

The Malone Family Foundation provides scholarship funding to highly motivated, high achieving students in the top five percent of their classes who would otherwise lack the tuition resources to attend an independent school. Proceeds from this endowment fund will establish partial or full scholarships at USN for a number of these academically talented students. Plans to identify and name USN’s first Malone Scholars will take shape in coming weeks, with an eye to launching the program by early next year.

USN Director Vince Durnan says, “The Malone grant comes in the midst of continued strategic discussions at University School about affordability. Our commitment to opening doors for promising students from a breadth of backgrounds is deep and long-standing. We’re honored by the Foundation’s endorsement, and we see this as a watershed moment.”

The Malone Foundation gift comes near the conclusion of USN’s Campaign for Arts and Letters, a 4-year initiative that has raised more than $14.5 million and resulted in the construction of a 20,000 square foot library, new visual arts studios, and renovation of the original Peabody Demonstration School building.

Juliet Douglas, USN’s Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, sees great possibilities in the donation. “I’m excited about meeting the students and families for whom University School will be a great opportunity. Every one of us here will benefit from these students’ joining our school community.”

In annually selecting the schools to receive a grant, the Malone Family Foundation chooses “independent secondary schools who have an intense interest in educating the gifted and talented--schools who have educational resources to challenge each individual mind, an appropriate environment to encourage a reach for excellence, intimate class sizes allowing a personal teacher-to-student relationship, the flexibility to allow creative minds to flourish, and a social atmosphere in which each student (regardless of background) may interact comfortably and may exercise his intelligence without fear of embarrassment or ridicule."

Cathie Wlaschin, Administrator of the Malone Family Foundation, adds, “What I found at USN was all of the above in a great urban setting next to Vanderbilt, enthusiastically used as a resource. I found, as well, joyful students who are both self-motivated and encouraged to stretch their curricular options; a dynamic head who has created a spirited and exciting learning environment in which the school's small campus creates opportunity rather than limits; and a faculty and staff who clearly feel empowered and devoted to their mission to educate tomorrow's leaders.”

University School of Nashville is an independent, non-sectarian, coeducational kindergarten through twelfth grade school enrolling 1,000 students. USN is committed to representing the diversity of the Nashville area and to providing an educational experience which facilitates intellectual, aesthetic, social, emotional, and physical growth of students. This year’s 77 graduates will attend 50 colleges and universities, including many of the nation’s most prestigious, in 27 states.

For more information, please email Director of Development Anne Westfall at awestfall@usn.org or call her at 277-7495.