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4 Years Forward: A New Annual Fund Opportunity



The new 4 Years Forward program gives donors who commit to a $10,000 gift this year and in each of the next three years the unique opportunity to take a four-year journey with some of Dickinson’s best students. Every 4 Years Forward gift supports John Dickinson Scholars, recipients of the college’s most prestigious academic scholarship. An elite group comprising less than 5 percent of the student population, these students show, year after year, that they are here to take every advantage of what Dickinson has to offer, and they do so in some of the most extraordinary ways.

John Dickinson Scholars

John Dickinson Scholars don’t just read about their subjects—they interact with them. As some of the college’s highest achieving students, they frequently participate in student-faculty research projects and hands-on interdisciplinary programs that define the Dickinson experience.

Whether it’s a summer research project measuring global warming’s impact on the oceans or a trip to Argentina to capture oral histories of Jewish migration, these programs cost more than traditional classroom-based courses. By making a 4 Years Forward commitment you help provide John Dickinson Scholars with unique experiences that take them out of the classroom and deeper into the subjects they study.

Take for example, Alejo Lifschitz ’10, a John Dickinson Scholar who double majored in chemistry and art & art history and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry at Northwestern University. As a student Alejo:

  • served as an intern at one of the most prolific nanotechnology laboratories in the world under the tutelage of Chad Mirkin ’86, director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern University
  • worked alongside Professor of Chemistry Cindy Samet as part of a student-faculty research project to study weak and nonconventional supramolecular interactions in thin films through matrix isolation, which could lead to future breakthroughs in the field of nanotechnology
  • was one of fewer than 600 students worldwide selected to participate in the 2009 Lindau Nobel Laureate conference in Germany
  • participated in an internship in art conservation
  • developed his oil-painting technique, enabling him to sell several commissioned works
  • earned summa cum laude designation and was elected to Dickinson’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter upon graduation
  • and received the American Chemical Society (ACS) Outstanding Chemistry Student Award and the ACS Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry.

“Dickinson has helped me understand and receive a firsthand view of the current state of my field of study. It has helped me appreciate the interconnectedness of knowledge, which will prove very useful when I become an active component of the field in graduate school. … This kind of critical view will enhance my future work throughout my life and will remain the hallmark of my education at Dickinson.”

—Alejo Lifschitz ’10 

A Worthwhile Investment

The John Dickinson Scholarship awards each recipient $80,000 for eight semesters of full-time study at the college. It is Dickinson’s highest recognition for academic achievement and leadership. Recipients are top students in a challenging high-school curriculum, demonstrated through significant advanced coursework and most grades at the A (4.0) level. They have SAT scores of at least 1350 (Critical Reading plus Math) or an ACT score of at least 31 and show evidence of leadership in school or community activities. Though the scholarship is based upon academic merit, 70 percent of the recipients have an average annual financial-aid need of more than $35,000, far exceeding their scholarship award. Across four years of education, nearly $3.5 million will be invested in this talented group of students.

The John Dickinson Scholarship fund is essential in attracting these gifted students to Dickinson. Being able to offer John Dickinson Scholars $20,000 per year in financial support often makes the difference in their decision to come to Dickinson.

By supporting these scholars, you open the door to their Dickinson journey. Where the journey takes them—and you as a vested partner in their experience—is limitless. Donors will share in every aspect of the Dickinson experience, which includes student-faculty research, internships, study abroad, athletics and service-learning opportunities.
You’ll have a hand in shaping the Dickinson experience for this talented group of students. Your commitment will make a difference today, tomorrow and four years forward.