IBM Founds Scholarship For the Harvard Bound

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) announced last week that the company will establish a $2 million scholarship fund for three Boston Latin School seniors who plan to attend Harvard and a fourth who will go to another school.

The scholarship was created as a tribute to T. Vincent Learson '35, a Boston Latin alumnus. Although now retired, Learson worked at IBM for 38 years, serving as its president from 1966 to 1971 and then as chief executive officer and chairperson of the board until 1973, said IBM spokesperson Theo Chisholm.

Each recipient will be awarded a yearly scholarship of up to $4000, Chisholm said. She said applicants will be judged on academic performance, leadership abilities, financial need and interest in mathematics and computer science.

Boston Latin officials said that they do not know if the scholarships will be offered this spring or next year.

Citing declining student interest in "informational technology," Harvard's Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons '67 called the scholarship "a perfect gift."

He said the scholarship shows students that financial assistance for schooling is available and that large companies like IBM care about the future of young people.

"We have a close relationship to the Boston Latin School," said Fitzsimmons. An average of 20 or 30 Boston Latin graduates enroll at Harvard each year, Fitzsimmons said.

Founded one year before Harvard, the institution was the first formal school in the U.S. and is now a public school of 2300 students.