Endowed scholarship funds are a vital part of Bates College’s need-based financial aid program, ensuring that all admitted students receive aid that meets their demonstrated financial need.

Along with annual gifts from the Bates Fund, endowed scholarship funds help make a Bates education accessible to talented students from all backgrounds.

---

‘What You Can Only Imagine’

Among the thousands of Bates students who have been supported by scholarship endowments over the years is Ed  Zuis ’24, who came to Bates from the rural town of Monmouth, Maine. During his time at Bates, he received the Gracie Hall ’46 and John W. Stone Scholarship.

Gracie Hall ’46 and John W. Stone Scholarship Fund

• FY24 Book Value: $100,000.00
• FY24 Market Value:  $112,713.87
• Amount Spent to Support Bates Students in FY25: $5,818.50

He graduated with a double major in biological chemistry and mathematics, earning honors in biochemistry and membership in Phi Beta Kappa. He is now a scientist with Eurofins.

Gracie Hall Stone ’49, who died in 2017, created the fund through a planned bequest. In 2003 when asked about her bequest intention, she said, “It’s a lot of fun to get enthused about what you can only imagine.”

At Bates, Hall majored in chemistry, graduating in three years with top grades. After Bates, she achieved professional prominence during a 35-year career at Uniroyal, helping to invent new products to support agriculture.

Named for her and her husband, John W. Stone, the fund supports financial aid for Maine students with preference for a student interested in pursuing a major in the sciences.