McCarthy Coyle Wagner Scholarship for Community Activism
Criteria: (One $500 Award) The McCarthy Coyle Wagner Scholarship for Community Activism will be awarded to a sophomore, junior or senior enrolled at Worcester State University. The student must be in good academic standing with a grade point average of 2.0 or higher. Preference will be given to a student who has a focus on improving the quality of civic life through student community activism, has been working with Worcester State community partners, and has demonstrated financial need. This work could be in the Arts, Health Care, Education or any discipline that leads the student to see and act on the interconnectedness of extended communities. A 500-word essay must be submitted expressing how the student demonstrates an interest in leading their peers to take on work that seeks to improve the life of others.
McCarthy Coyle (1939-2006) was an artist and activist. His play “Drawing Down the Moon” was directed by Lloyd Richards at the O’Neill Theatre Festival. The lead of the original production was Frances McDormand. His play “The Root” played at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
A Journalism Fellow at Stanford University and one-time reporter for the New York Daily News, McCarthy founded The Borrowed Times newspaper in Missoula, Montana and was also instrumental in founding MQTV (Montanans for Quality Television), which established public and cable access television in Montana.
A veteran of the Coast Guard, he helped establish the first VA medical clinic for veterans in Montana.
McCarthy believed in free speech and freedom of association. The McCarthy Coyle Wagner family, including Worcester State University Professor Mark Wagner, Ph.D., has many members who are and have been active in artistic, civic and political life. Whether through arts organizations, student organizations, or local or city government, many in the family have benefited from strengthening civic and social networks in an interconnected world. The scholarship is dedicated to McCarthy Coyle’s legacy of action and activism.