The RUTH SPENCE HARDEN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND was established in 2001 in loving memory of the retired guidance counselor and educator, who was a 1943 Business Education graduate of Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.

When Mrs. Harden entered Hampton Institute as a freshman in 1939 shortly after the Great Depression, she had no idea how she or her parents would ever be able to pay her annual tuition and living expenses of about $300. Mrs. Harden’s dream was that the dreams of other bright young people would always be more easily attainable than hers.

As a guidance counselor at Soldan High School in St. Louis, Missouri from 1960-1983, Mrs. Harden gave generously of her free time, resources and creative spirit to help talented students from the inner-city get into college and obtain scholarships. For several years, Mrs. Harden chaired the Education Committee of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., which awards thousands of dollars in scholarships to young women each year.

The Ruth Spence Harden Memorial Scholarship Fund provides scholarship opportunities for deserving African-American high school graduates entering college and college coeds to excel as Business Administration, Accounting, Marketing or Finance majors.

Scholarship awardees receive financial assistance for tuition and books based on financial need. Mrs. Harden believed that investing in young people on the “front end” yields significant returns on the “back end”. Since 2001, five scholarship recipients have already impacted their college campuses and communities as capable future leaders.