Kit Pardee '77 Fund for Students Committed to Academic Excellence and Campus Involvement

Her legacy fund adds to the Pardee Scholarship she established in 2008

Kit Pardee front joins Undergraduate Studies Dean Donna B. Hamilton (left) and Grace Cha, recipient of the Pardee Scholarship, at the University of Maryland's Day of Scholarship and Celebration.

Kit Pardee, Bachelor of General Studies '77, continues to give back to the University of Maryland. Following the establishment of the Kit Pardee Scholarship in 2008, she recently made a planned gift to the University that expands on her current scholarship fund and provides for new opportunities for Undergraduate Studies students. Pardee's bequest sets up three funds that create meaningful legacies for generations to come.

The current Pardee Undergraduate Studies Scholarship provides a scholarship to a student with financial need who has demonstrated involvement in campus activities and is committed to their studies. When setting up her scholarship Pardee noted, "In my view, undergraduate education is what enables a person to take advantage of all other opportunities in life. At a crucial developmental stage in a young person's life, Maryland offers a particularly exceptional environment in which to explore one's passions and proficiencies, surrounded by a wealth of world-class educational resources."

Pardee's new bequest will allow the fund to award several significant scholarships. Additionally, her bequest sets up a fund to grant high impact awards for students to take advantage of an internship or study abroad program, as well as setting up a High Performance Player Fund for the women's field hockey team.

Kit Pardee's focus as an undergraduate was on Women's Studies. She was active on campus playing field hockey and women's basketball at a time when Title IX was first being implemented at the University of Maryland. In the late 1970's Kit was hit by a drunk driver and became a quadriplegic due to the accident. Kit recuperated from her accident at George Washington University Hospital at the same time that James Brady, President Reagan's Press Secretary, was there recovering from a gunshot wound that left him a quadriplegic as well.

During her recuperation Pardee made the decision to attend law school and as soon as she was able she enrolled at Catholic University. After years of working full-time and attending night school she received her law degree in 1996. Pardee continues her pursuit of life-long learning, taking online courses and returning to the campus often to catch a field hockey or other team sport, and to join her friends on campus for lunch and ice cream at the Diary.

Pardee recently noted her motivation for her gift, "My desire to create the Pardee Scholarship actually arose from two impulses. One, a sense of gratitude for the strong foundation my education at Maryland provided me. The other, an awareness that students today, faced with unprecedented financial challenges, often miss out on the type of idyllic campus life that I enjoyed. My aspiration is that this scholarship will provide students the freedom to investigate the myriad experiences offered through University organizations and, perhaps in doing so, help them discover their own gifts and those of a diverse community of fellow students."

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