Twelve Coastal Carolina University students have been awarded $1,000 scholarships for the 2011-2012 academic year by CCU’s Women in Philanthropy and Leadership (WIPL) organization.

Recipients of the 2011-2012 scholarships are:

• Dakota Beach of Columbia, a senior majoring in English

• Heather Edwards of North Myrtle Beach, a sophomore majoring in psychology

• Emily Hausler of Little River, a sophomore majoring in management

• Adam Hyatt of Myrtle Beach, a senior majoring in elementary education

• Amy Jarvis of Myrtle Beach, a senior majoring in English

• Crystal Johnson of Marion, a senior majoring in sociology

• Amy Linneman of Little River, a senior majoring in elementary education

• Margaret McLellan of Dillon, a junior majoring in early childhood education

• Mary Sheehy of Hampton, N.H., a junior majoring in art studio

• Jennifer Stone of Centerville, Ohio, a junior majoring in marine science

• Amanda Voges of Clover, a sophomore majoring in biology-engineering

• Jennifer Wan of Howell, N.J., a junior majoring in middle level education

The annual award is designed to benefit deserving students who meet the scholarship’s academic criteria (15 credit hours achieved with at least a 3.0 grade point average) and who demonstrate financial need. Preference is given to students from Horry, Georgetown, Dillon, Marion or Williamsburg counties. WIPL has awarded 62 scholarships and a total of nearly $60,000 to students. In the past two years, 75 percent of the WIPL scholarship recipients have been named to the President’s or Dean’s lists for their academic achievements.

WIPL recently elected officers for 2011-2012. Mary Jo Roberts, a manager with Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), was elected president; Debbie Conner, associate vice president for University Relations at Coastal Carolina University, was named vice president/president-elect; Jennifer Shinaberger, assistant director of distance learning and the TEAL Center at CCU, was elected secretary; and Lynn Fox, director of research in the Office for Philanthropy at CCU, was elected treasurer. The executive director of WIPL is Terri DeCenzo, a community leader and advocate for women and women’s issues.

Women in Philanthropy was founded in 2002 by a group of local women, including several Coastal Carolina University employees, committed to establishing a new program of financial support for the University. The group awarded its first scholarships in 2003. In 2007, the organization added leadership as a core value of its mission and was renamed Women in Philanthropy and Leadership. With the reorganization, members committed to explore opportunities for women in all areas of leadership and across all disciplines, while continuing to invest in scholarships for students.

In 2011 WIPL hosted the first Women’s Leadership Conference and Celebration of Inspiring Women, which attracted national attention for women’s issues and leadership. The second Women’s Leadership Conference and Celebration of Inspiring Women will be held March 19-20, 2012 in Myrtle Beach.