Skull and Dagger Foundation Scholarships

The Skull and Dagger Foundation has established two scholarships in memory of former Permanent Masters of the Society. The first was established in 1989 and is named in memory of Dr. Kenneth Owler Smith, a professor of Journalism, who served as Permanent Master of the Society from 1983 until his passing in 1988. The second was established in 2002 in memory of Dr. Harrison M. Kurtz, a professor of Biological Sciences, who served as Permanent Master from 1989 until his passing in 2001. Both scholarships are awarded annually to the continuing USC students (graduate or undergraduate) who have demonstrated significant campus and/or community leadership.

Click here for information and applications for the 2012-2013 Skull and Dagger Foundation Scholarships - Due March 2, 2012


2010-2011 Winners

The two scholarship recipients for the 2010-2011 school year are Ryan M. O'Shea and Brian Tenenbaum:

Ryan M. O’Shea is third year student at the USC Keck School of Medicine. As an undergraduate at USC, he was president of Mortar Board, the national senior honor society, and was selected a Renaissance Scholar, having graduated with a degree in both Biology and Economics.  In 2007, he received the Joint Educational Project (JEP) Outstanding Volunteer Award for his hundreds of hours of volunteer service.  At the Keck School of Medicine, he currently serves as the co-president of the Class of 2011, president of the Surf Club, and founder of the USC HSC Gym Committee.  As he wrote in his essay, “I am a medical student, teacher, volunteer.  Leader, surfer and shaper.  Faithful, scholarly, skillful, courageous, ambitious. I am a Trojan.”

Brian Tenenbaum is a junior majoring in International Relations, and has been accepted into the Progressive Masters Program in Public Diplomacy.  He first came to USC from Miami Beach, Florida as a high school senior through the Resident Honors Program.  He is an honors student in the Thematic Option Honors Program. He is a Caravan for Democracy Fellow and serves on the USC Hillel Student Board.  He is a member of the founding pledge class of Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity, and as its first president, worked to obtain a new chapter house.  His recommender stated that he is one of the strongest students that she has recruited in the last decade to USC, and has already shown that he is a natural leader.

The following is a list of the past recipients of this scholarship: