Archaeology scholarship for NM girls

New Mexico girls who dream of becoming archaeologists can now apply for a college scholarship designed just for them.

The scholarship can be used at Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico State University, or the University of New Mexico. It covers the cost of tuition, course fees and books, and it's renewable for up to five years.

The award is the Cheryl L. Wase Memorial Scholarship for the Study of Archaeology, announced this week by the Society for American Archaeology in Washington DC. The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. EST on Jan. 31, 2016.

A longtime resident of New Mexico, Wase received a BA in Anthropology and English from Rutgers

University and an MA in Anthropology from Columbia University. She spent most of her career working

in the high desert of northwestern New Mexico.

Wase died in 2004. The scholarship in her name was established in 2013 by a bequest from the estate of her mother, Jane Francy Wase, to bring together the three major themes that defined Wase’s life: her dedication to archaeology, her love for New Mexico, and her constant willingness to help and support other women.

“Cheryl considered New Mexico ‘the home of her heart,” said Dr. Patricia L. Crown, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico, who chairs the Society for American Archaeology’s Wase Scholarship Committee. "Cheryl was a fierce advocate for the field of archaeology, and she would be so pleased to know that her legacy will include helping women in New Mexico train to be archaeologists.”

More details are available at the Society's website at: http://www.saa.org/AbouttheSociety/Awards/WASEScholarship/tabid/1527/Default.aspx.