Bob and Doris Tracy Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship Award

Spring 2025: 2024-2025 Academic Year Award

The Bob and Doris Tracy Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship Award was created to support and encourage first- and second-generation undergraduate students enrolled in the Department of Biology who are studying mechanistic natural history (ecology, evolution, physiology, etc.) of vertebrates. The highest priority in awarding the scholarship will be to first-generation college students. However, second-generation students are also encouraged to apply. The most competitive applicants will be students who are concentrating on the mechanistic natural history of vertebrates: this “interest” criterion will be evaluated liberally, however.

These scholarships are named in memory of Bob and Doris Tracy, who believed in the important of higher education. Although they could not afford college for themselves, they struggled to provide this experience for their children. Unfortunately, Bob and Doris passed before witnessing the manifold successes that higher education brought to their children. The intent of these scholarships is to honor Bob and Doris’s supportive spirit by “paying it forward” or helping first-generation biology students who have ambitious goals to learn and use what they learn to benefit society.

Applicants:

• Must enroll in 6 units or more for the current Spring term.
• Must be an undergraduate student in the biology department majoring in Mechanistic natural history (ecology, evolution, physiology, etc.) of vertebrates
• Must have a GPA greater than or equal to 3.0.
• Must request (2) letters of recommendation via the myMatador Scholarships portal. (One letter must from a Biology faculty member).
• Upload: unofficial transcripts
• Submit a brief personal statement. (must be typed, single-spaced and no longer than page in length) Please acknowledge your status as a first- or second-generation college student, recount significant experiences in mechanistic natural history of vertebrates while at CSUN, and describe your future professional goals.

If selected as the recipient, I agree to write a* thank-you letter to the donor(s) and be willing to meet with the donor(s) or designee(s). Both will be coordinated by the College’s Director of Development.

Should you have any questions regarding this scholarship opportunity contact Dr. Cristian Ruiz Rueda at cristian.ruiz-rueda@csun.edu.

Please note: If you are receiving financial aid (including loans), your financial aid award(s) may be adjusted if you receive a scholarship amount that exceeds your financial aid total limit. Speak to a financial aid counselor during walk-in hours to get a detailed overview about your individual situation. Any change to your enrollment status resulting in less than required enrollment for any term within the award year will result in a cancellation of your award.