Three Rivers College Foundation has chosen two distinguished educators after whom to name two of the Foundation’s scholarships. The Minority Student Scholarship will be named for William DeHomer Waller, founding dean of Three Rivers’ original New London campus. The Non-Traditional Student Scholarship will be named after Dr. Wayne Silver, former Dean at Three Rivers and Emeritus faculty member.

In 1968, Dr. Waller was named founding dean of Three Rivers (known then as Mohegan Community College and located in New London). He was instrumental in recruiting the college’s first staff and students and creating academic protocols. During his collegiate career, Waller was named a trustee of the University of Connecticut and served on the Board of Education of New London. He headed the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Fund and was a housing specialist for the NAACP for many years. He also served as an educational specialist for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington.

Dr. Wayne Silver arrived in 1986 at Mohegan Community College as Academic Dean, a position he held for five years. He remained active at Three Rivers and in the Connecticut Community College System, serving as Acting Academic Dean at Quinebaug Valley Community College from 1994-95, Chair of the Humanities Dept at Three Rivers from 1997-99, and Acting Academic Dean at Three Rivers from 2001-03. He was also selected as Three Rivers’ “faculty member of the 90s,” an award granted by the Connecticut Community College System.

Silver authored more than 20 journal articles, conference papers, etc., as well as a book entitled, “What Every New Community College Student Needs To Know.” Currently, Silver is President of American Friends of Kenya, a charitable organization that sends books, computers, school supplies, and medical equipment to the poorest regions of Kenya. The organization also assists orphanages, feeding stations, hospitals, and village schools and libraries, and sponsors working trips to Kenya for teams of medical, educational, library, and agricultural professionals.

Annually, one William DeHomer Waller scholarship worth $1,200 will be awarded to a minority student and two Dr. Wayne Silver scholarships worth $1,200 will be awarded to two non-traditional students. The application deadline is March 29.