The Mossman Scholars Endowment

The generosity shown by the late Ken and Blaire Mossman to support students, faculty, and programs at UT continues to change lives. The Mossman Scholars Endowment helps students travel internationally for language study with $3,000 for travel expenses, tuition, books, and other related educational expenses.

“The scholarships make an absolutely transformational difference in what the student is able to experience,” says Adrian Del Caro, head of the Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures. “If students get the opportunity to go abroad and cement the skills they have, they become functionally bilingual for life.”

“My experiences gave me invaluable insight, wonderful connections, and unforgettable lessons about traveling, diversity, and health care,” says Anna Vannucci, a senior majoring in kinesiology and Hispanic studies who studied abroad in Santiago, Chile, focusing on Spanish, culture, and public health.

“Without this financial support,” says Del Caro, “it would be far less likely that many students would even consider taking that positively transformational trip and having that experience abroad. Given this incentive, the student will consider adding a second major or minor. It’s theoretical until the student is there. Then begins the experience learning part of language study in those international experiences in Peru, France, Germany, and Japan. There’s no price that you can put on that.

“In practical terms, the Mossman Scholarships help us increase the quality of our language scholarship in two major ways. Linguistically, by speaking continually in total immersion, students become fluent and come to know all the nuances of that language. Culturally, they come to understand how the people interact—their customs, values, and history. That’s global citizenship.”

Del Caro says if students have the Mossman exploration experience, it can help them in their applications for major national scholarships like the Fulbright or Boren.

“As educators, we know the value of being bilingual,” says Del Caro. “If I’m a businessperson with two resumes on my desk, and one has German, I’m going to choose the one who can help me communicate with my German clients and customers. It seems logical to me that I’ll go for that added value.”

Your support of UT Knoxville makes life-changing opportunities like studying abroad a possibility. If you would like to learn how you can make a gift like the one the Mossmans did, please contact the Office of Gift Planning at 865-974-3388 or giftplanning@utk.edu.