Wm. Paul Phillips

A new scholarship established in honor of a former editor of the Morgan County News will award up to $1,000 for nontraditional students who take courses at Roane State Community College’s Morgan County campus.

The Iva Mae Lavender Phillips scholarship was arranged through the Roane State Foundation by Wm. Paul Phillips, the foundation’s executive director and Iva’s husband. Iva was editor of the Morgan County News in the late 1970s. She was also a working adult who went back to school and graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee and Tennessee Tech University.

Iva graduated from Sunbright High School in 1969. She served as administrative manager of the District Attorney General’s Office for the 8th Judicial District, which formerly included Morgan County.

“I admired how Iva pursued her education as a nontraditional student, and we wanted to do something to encourage more adults in Morgan County to go back to school,” Paul Phillips said. “It’s never too late to pursue your education, and we hope this scholarship gives students a bit of encouragement to take that step, go back to school, and finish a college degree.”

The recipient will be selected by the Roane State Foundation scholarship specialist and Michelle Adkisson, the director of the Morgan County campus. To be eligible, a student must:
• Take or have taken classes at the Morgan County campus and maintain at least a 2.5 GPA
• Exhibit financial need
• Be a nontraditional student