Students First: Nancy Robinson Continues to Give to UW's Youngest Students

The University of Washington's early-entrance program began modestly in 1977 with just two students. Today, more than 500 students have entered the UW via the nationally recognized Halbert and Nancy Robinson Center for Young Scholars. The Center has a full range of programs, including summer classes for fifth-through ninth-graders and statewide outreach to help identify and guide thousands of students of all ages who may benefit from accelerated educational opportunities.

Nancy Robinson, the center's former director who retired as a UW professor in 2000, remained active at the center until this spring. She recently made a lead gift for a Students First scholarship endowment to provide significant support for early-entrance students with financial need.

Annually, 16 students between the ages of 12 and 14 are accepted to the Robinson Center's Early Entrance Program Transition School, where they earn full freshman status after a year of preparatory studies. Thirty-five 10th graders enter the UW as freshman honors students, spending their first quarter together in the Robinson Center's Bridge program at the UW Academy for Young Scholars. Since most financial aid and scholarship programs stipulate full freshman status, students in the Transition School are not usually eligible for financial assistance.

"When early entrance is right for a student, it's very right," Robinson says. "These are the leaders of tomorrow — the kind of people who are going to make an impact on our world."

The program serves another important purpose, according to Robinson Center Director and Professor Kate Noble. "Early entrance is a way of encouraging very bright students to attend the UW and take advantage of the extraordinary resources we have here. Dr. Robinson's scholarship support will help keep these very bright kids at the UW."

For more on the Robinson Center, visit http://depts.washington.edu/cscy.

Return to Spring 2008 Campaign Newsletter