Naming recognizes the dedication of one of the University's longtime leaders

PHILADELPHIA (November 9, 2009) – The University of the Arts has recognized three decades of dedication by Life Trustee Sam McKeel by naming one of the school’s most important scholarships in his honor.

President Sean Buffington announced the naming of the University’s Promising Young Artists Scholarship for McKeel at an October 12 dinner honoring McKeel’s long and distinguished service to the University at the Villanova, Pa., home of Trustee Ronald Caplan.

Established in 1994, the fund has helped more than 5,000 students through approximately $100 million in scholarships. The first recipients of the Sam McKeel Promising Young Artists Fund, which assists nearly 80 percent of all University students, will be announced in September.

One of the chief architects of the 1985 merger of the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts (PCPA) and Philadelphia College of Art (PCA) that eventually led to the formation of the University of the Arts in 1987, McKeel served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of PCA from 1976 – 1984. The Gladwyne, Pa., resident received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from the University in 1987.

"As one of the people so instrumental in guiding this University to where it is today," said President Buffington, "it is only fitting that the scholarship that assists most students is named for Sam, one of the visionaries whose hard work and dedication helped create the dynamic institution that is the University of the Arts today."

The chairman and publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News from 1986 – 1989, McKeel has served on the boards of Greater Philadelphia First Corporation, Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and Jefferson University Hospital.

The University of the Arts is the nation’s first and only university dedicated to the visual, performing and communication arts. Its 2,400 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs on its campus in the heart of Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. The institution’s roots as a leader in educating creative individuals date back to 1868.


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