The Martin Luther King, Jr. Endowed Scholarship

Virginia Stafford Pallett was a graduate of Wichita University in 1953. She received her bachelor of arts in journalism and after a brief career, returned to Wichita State University where she was switchboard operator for Brennan Hall, the men’s residence hall, and later, Grace Wilkie Hall, the women’s dormitory. A fierce optimist, she began her battle to achieve independence by working in a school for children with disabilities in order to save money for college. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 3, she was never discouraged, always enthusiastic. In 1990, she decided to establish a scholarship to thank the university for her many rewarding days as student and employee. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Endowed Scholarship was created for African-American students majoring in liberal arts. She named the scholarship after the great civil rights leader as a tribute to her father, a man she said ‘lived without prejudice.’