A scholarship fund in honor of the late Alice S. Sparks has been established at Thomas More University as a tribute to her legacy as a community servant and philanthropist.
Sparks’ life-long passion for education and advocacy of women’s empowerment is well known, so it is in that spirit that a scholarship fund has been established and named in her memory.
The Alice S. Sparks Women’s Leadership Fund will provide scholarships to worthy female students, faculty and staff of Thomas More University for efforts that encourage professional development and intellectual and academic growth.
These activities will be of a research, scholarly, professional or artistic nature and would enhance teaching and learning at Thomas More University.
Sparks died of COVID in 2020. She was the consummate community volunteer and a generous philanthropist. Over the years, she showed a commitment to impacting education issues at both the state and national levels, serving as legislative chair of the Kentucky PTA, as well as advocating tirelessly for the Kentucky Education Reform Act. She’s been recognized by a number of educational groups for her work improving education, from kindergarten to university, in statewide education reform efforts. She served on the board of the Governor’s Scholars program and on the boards for the University of Kentucky, Thomas More College and Northern Kentucky University where she was elected chair in 1994.
She was the first woman to chair a public university in the Commonwealth.
The plan is to award the first scholarship on March 4, 2022.