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 2013-2014 Skull and Dagger Foundation Scholarships - Due March 1, 2013


2012-2013 Winners

The two scholarship recipients for the 2012-2013 school year are Vladimir Ljubimov and Tanya Shah:

Vladimir Ljubimov is a medical student at the USC Keck School of Medicine. As an undergraduate student at USC, he completed his B.S. in Biochemistry Phi Beta Kappa in three years while maintaining a 3.83 gpa.  He served as founder and president of the Undergraduate Chemistry Club and was a Discovery Scholar. A classical pianist, he is involved with Music for Healing at the Norris Cancer Center, and organized a piano concert with a local piano teacher for her young students.  His recommender noted that he "is an excellent example of a person who gives selflessly in a way that inspires others to do similarly and thus he greatly accelerates achievements of teams and groups with which he is involved."

Tanya Shah is a junior majoring in Psychology, with a Pre-Medicine degree objective.   Originally from Bellevue, Washington, she is maintaining a 3.55 gpa while involved in many activities across campus.  She is the Executive Board President of USC Global Medical Brigades, organizing three brigades to Honduras and USC's first ever brigade to Ghana.  She serves on the Executive Board of Youth Exploring Passion and works as an EMT in the Los Angeles community surrounding USC.  Her recommender noted her strong academics and leadership but also that she comes "with a strong heart - one that wants to help very much."

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