Rolls-Royce Scholarship at McPherson College
The Automotive Restoration Technology Program at McPherson College was established in 1976 with an initial investment of over $2.5 million. The College includes Templeton Hall, which houses the nationally recognized Automotive Restoration Technology Program. The spacious 33,000-square-foot facility is equipped with specialized equipment and tools to support the unique curriculum of the auto restoration program.
Over ten years ago, the Rolls-Royce Foundation established the Rolls-Royce Scholarship. The 2012 recipient is Kala Tiemann, a sophomore from Lewis, Kansas. She likes cars from the 1920s to the 1950s. She likes cars with dramatic curves, gleaming hood ornaments and simple lines. She hopes to render and photograph classic cars to help potential customers imagine the beauty they might not be able to from an unrestored car. Kala is active in the college auto restoration club and has been on two trips with the college.
Pennsylvania College of Technology
One of the most prestigious and recognizable names in automobile history is lending its support to Pennsylvania College of Technology’s two-year Automotive Restoration Technology major. The Rolls-Royce Foundation has agreed to provide to the College Rolls-Royce or Bentley motorcars, as available, for Penn College students to restore in the School of Transportation Technology’s automotive restoration labs. The first vehicle, a 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow arrived prior to the January start of the Spring 2013 semester. The Silver Shadow was produced from 1965-77, with approximately 16,700 standard steel saloons constructed.
The Rolls-Royce Foundation – an independent, nonprofit, charitable organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the heritage of Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motorcars – has also started a “building to endowed” scholarship to provide financial support to students in the associate-degree major. Preference is given to full-time students who have successfully completed two semesters of study in the new major, and who have maintained a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The first $1,000 award is anticipated this fall.
“We are pleased to participate with Pennsylvania College of Technology in your automotive restoration technology program. By funding a scholarship and providing a vehicle to the program, we hope to expose students to the ‘Finest Car in The World,’” said Charles Jensik, Chairman of the Rolls-Royce Foundation. “Together, we will educate and motivate the students to continue working on these vehicles after their Penn College experience. The complexity with elegance that is prevalent in these cars makes them engineering marvels and hopefully will spark the interest and challenge that will last a lifetime.”
In addition, faculty will have the opportunity to attend training seminars offered by the Rolls-Royce Foundation for its members, and faculty members and select students will be able to attend monthly meetings at which members work on museum and member cars.
Colin W. Williamson, the college’s dean of transportation technology, said: “It is an honor for us to partner with an association centered on one of the most unique and sought-after cars ever produced. The Rolls-Royce Foundation is to be commended for placing the student first by providing scholarship opportunities, as well as the chance to learn and work on handcrafted vehicles, both in class and alongside the members of the club.”
Pennsylvania College of Technology became an affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University in 1989, after establishing a national reputation for education supporting workforce development, first as a technical institute and later as a community college. Today, Penn College is a special mission affiliate of Penn State, committed to applied technology education.