Vilhelmina Kaufmanis Scholarship

Mrs. Kaufmanis was an enthusiastic, devoted and popular teacher of German and Russian at Mankato State in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. She is remembered particularly for her successful practice of approaching students standing in line at registration, asking them why they weren’t taking a foreign language and signing them up on the spot. Her husband is a well-known astronomer.

A scholarship will be awarded in her honor to an outstanding student of German. All graduate or undergraduate students, on campus or on an approved study-abroad exchange program, are encouraged to apply. The possibility of consecutive awards is not precluded.

Qualifications:

1. Achieved at a minimum an overall GPA of 3.2 and a GPA of 3.5 in German coursework.
2. Completed at least one upper division courses in the target language.
3. Demonstrated enthusiastic and consistent participation in one or both of the following areas:
   a) unpaid departmental activities.
   b) unpaid activities outside the Department of World Languages and Cultures that involve the use and/or promotion of German.

Applicants should submit an essay providing specific examples of foreign-language related activities in which they are involved and future plans to use their German language and cultural knowledge. This essay should include their projected coursework for the next academic year.

In the event of a tie between two candidates, their respective grade-point averages will be the determining factor.