The Harriet Fitzgerald Scholarship is given annually to two students who are committed to attending women’s colleges. The award of up to $10,000 is renewable for four years with continued high academic performance.  The Scholarship, named after Harriet Fitzgerald, a distinguished alumna of R-MWC, provides promising young students with financial support to attend a women’s college where their intellect and talents will be nurtured and where they will receive an education preparing them to participate fully in public life.

Harriet Fitzgerald was an artist, exhibitor, and esteemed lecturer. A Virginia native, she attended high school at Stratford Hall in Danville VA and graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia. After graduation she studied at The Art Students’ League of New York followed by independent study in Europe. Her concern for the social significance in human relationships began during the Great Depression of 1929. Returning to her home in Danville she developed her individual technique using African Americans, children, and the elderly as models.  During her career she directed the Abingdon Square Painters in New York City, served as a lecturer for the Arts Program Association of American Colleges and the Virginia Area University Center, and was the visiting lecturer at Stratford College. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Gamma Mu, the Women’s Press Club of New York City, and the Artist’s Equity of New York. She is listed in Who’s Who in American Art, Artists/USA, and Who’s Who of American Women.