MITCHELL, SOUTH DAKOTA – Nine candidates for ministry received $68,000 in funding from the Dakotas Conference Board of Ordained Ministry Scholarship Committee.  The major funding sources for the scholarship funds are the Wesley Center of Religion, Grand Forks, North Dakota and the Glen Ista Endowment.  Scholarships are needed to lessen the debt incurred by candidates for ministry. 

Today, because of cost of graduate education, seminary graduates are saddled with debt-- in the $40,000 to $60,000 range. The pace of the rise of the cost of education has exceeded the rate of inflation: to the tune of 500% since 1985 (Forbes, 2012).

The nine  scholarship recipients are:  Martin Avery, Iliff School of Theology; Lucas Boomsma. Boston University; Dan Fuchs, Asbury Theological Seminary; Valerie Hummel, Garrent Evangelical Seminary; Autumn Krueger, Chandler School of Theology; Seth LaBounty, Asbury Theolocial Seminary; Jeff Lathrop, Sioux Falls Seminary; Joddy Meidinger, Asbury Theological Seminary; and Alyssa Quade, Asbury Theological Seminary.

Members of the Board of Ordained Scholarship committee met in the late summer to select recipients of the funding.  Members of the committee include: Rev. Joel Allen, Jodi Cataldo, Rev. Doug Diehl, Rev. Bruce Forbes, Rev. Jenny Hallenbeck, and Jack Marsh.

Questions and Answers about the scholarship funding

Reverend Doug Diehl, Dakotas Conference Coordinator of Leadership Development provides insight and information about the scholarship funding that is available for candidates for ministry in the following question and answer forum.

What are the scholarships all about?  

Doug Diehl: Seminary debt is a huge issue for most of our students.  Since many of them will start their ministry in appointments at or near minimum salary this really becomes a critical issue.  The scholarships are given by a number of groups and individuals who have established gifts and endowments with the Dakotas United Methodist Foundation for that purpose. Once we select the recipients we try to match the scholarships received by the individual students with the intentions of the individual donors. For example, some have designated persons from North or South Dakota, graduates of particular colleges, and/or those who are second career students.  The money is sent to the seminary to be used for tuition, books and/or room and board.

Who is eligible and how do they apply?

Doug Diehl: Any member of a United Methodist Church in the Dakotas Conference is eligible. The individuals must currently be enrolled in a University Senate approved seminary and must be a certified candidate within our system.  A letter with an application is sent out in early spring to all of our eligible students presently attending seminary or those enrolled to attend seminary in the upcoming fall. In the past, the Scholarship Committee has met after Annual Conference, but this coming year we intend to move up the timeline so the committee can meet before Annual Conference and the recipients can be introduced at Annual Conference.

What does the Scholarship Committee consider when distributing funds?

Doug Diehl: The candidates are placed into award tiers, which will determine the amount the seminary student will receive. These tiers represent scholastic ability (these are "merit" scholarships), leadership already shown at local church and Conference level, ability to communicate meaningfully by answering questions concerning ministry, full-time or part-time status at school, support expressed in personal references and potential for ministry and leadership within the Dakotas.