Columbia Central

Jane Ann Legnard Alexandroff Endowed Scholarship for Social Change

for continuing undergraduate students

The Jane Ann Legnard Alexandroff Endowed Scholarship for Social Change was established to help defray the cost of tuition for full-time undergraduate students who outline a project that is designed to strengthen the social, economic, or physical fabric of their community.

Deadline to Apply: February 01, 2025

• How to Apply

  Visit Internal Scholarships and click on APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS to access the College-Wide Undergraduate Scholarship Application. Only complete scholarship applications submitted by the deadline will be reviewed by the scholarship committee. 

  Please follow all directions carefully. Students must submit the following materials to make a complete Jane Ann Legnard Alexandroff Endowed Scholarship for Social Change application. There are four parts to the application:

  
  PART 1: ESSAY

  In 1,200 words or less, submit a project proposal for a future project, or an outline of a current project, that is designed to enhance your community by means of social change.

  Your proposal must be double-spaced and include your name and Columbia ID number in the upper right-hand corner of the page. 

  Please upload your proposal in .pdf, .doc, or .docx format.
  
  PART 2: SAMPLES

  Upload at least one sample of your work related to your proposed or current project (action plans, budget, etc.)

  Please upload your sample(s) in .doc, .docx, .pdf, .mp3, .mov, .wmv, or.mp4 format; external video links may be uploaded in a .pdf, .doc, or .docx document. Note: Upload size limit is 50MB.

  PART 3: LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

  One letter of recommendation is required from a Columbia faculty member who is familiar with your academic achievement or accomplishment in your major.

  For your convenience, the online application will send an email notification directly to the person you've chosen to complete your recommendation. Please be prepared with the email address of your recommender. 

  Remember to contact your recommenders directly before providing their information on the application. Since this application is part of the larger College-Wide Undergraduate Scholarship application, also note the specific scholarship(s) for which they will be recommending you. Be sure to give recommenders as much time as possible to write letters. Requests made at the last minute are often difficult to fulfill by the deadline.

  PART 4: FAFSA SUBMISSION SUMMARY

  A current FAFSA Submission Summary must be on file. To receive a FAFSA Submission Summary, students must complete a 2025-26 financial aid application (FAFSA) by February 1, 2025.
  
  

  Access online applications through Internal Scholarships.

• About Jane Ann Legnard Alexandroff

  The Jane Ann Legnard Alexandroff Endowed Scholarship for Social Change was established to honor Jane Alexandroff and her extraordinary contributions to the evolution of Columbia College Chicago. Jane was the wife of Mirron "Mike" Alexandroff, who was president of Columbia College Chicago from 1961-1992. During their tenure, Columbia became the largest and most diverse college in the nation specializing in the visual, performing, and media arts. 
  
  As Jane played a vital role in the growth of the school, she was also a fierce advocate of human rights and social justice issues. She was active in the civil rights, women's rights, and gay rights movements, and was an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War. In 1986, she founded Chicago Artists Abroad, a granting agency designed to support Chicago artists performing and exhibiting outside of the United States, for which she served as Executive Director until her death in 1996.

   

  Image courtesy of the College Archives and Digital Collections at Columbia College Chicago.
• Scholarship Terms
  • Application must be submitted by February 1, 2025 (11:59 pm) for review by the committee
  • Previous amount of this one-year scholarship was up to $2,650, awarded half in Fall and half in Spring
  • Recipients must maintain full-time, undergraduate enrollment during the 2025-26 academic year
  • Recipients who graduate in Fall 2025 may receive the full scholarship amount in Fall 2025
  • Scholarship is applied toward tuition only
  • Students’ scholarships that are applied toward tuition may not exceed the amount of their tuition costs
  • Recipients must have submitted all outstanding documents to Columbia Central before the scholarship can be disbursed. Students can review missing documents in the MyColumbia portal under MyFinancials
  • Scholarship may be used toward a study abroad program through one of Columbia's student exchange programs, excluding Summer sessions. Please note: Recipients who enroll in an independent study abroad program will forfeit their scholarship during the semester spent abroad
  • The rules and regulations governing other sources of financial aid (federal, state, institutional and other grants, gifts, or loans) will apply
  • Columbia College Chicago reserves the right to withhold the scholarship in any year in which, at the sole discretion of the scholarship committee, suitable candidates cannot be found among applicants

IMPORTANT DATES

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