MORGANTOWN – A new scholarship has been established at West Virginia University's College of Law in honor of Franklin Cleckley, who was one of the first African American professors at the university, by anonymous donors.
The Franklin D. Cleckley Minority Scholarship will be open to African American students at the university who are enrolled full-time and have demonstrated a need for financial assistance and the potential for giving back to the community, as determined by appropriate officials of the WVU Student Financial Aid Office and the WVU College of Law.
Recipients shall be residents of West Virginia or Tazewell County, Virginia, with preference given to residents of Mercer and McDowell counties in West Virginia and Tazewell County in Virginia. First-year law students will also be given preference.
"The scholarship is so important to the law school," Greg Bowman, dean of the College of Law said in a statement provided to The West Virginia Record. "It helps us honor the important legacy of Professor Cleckley and train the next generation of diverse lawyers and leaders for West Virginia."
The number of students to receive the award has yet to be decided because it's not fully funded yet. The donors have pledged $100,000 over four years to establish the scholarship fund.
The anonymous donors provided a statement to the law school regarding the donation, saying Cleckley was an inspiration.
"Franklin D. Cleckley devoted his life to contributing to law students, the judicial system, the underserved, the forgotten, the ignored and the disenfranchised," the donors said in a statement provided to the university. "He provided inspiration and mentorship to hundreds of lawyers who, under his guidance, sought to provide high-quality service to others. Professor Cleckley had a personal goal of increasing the undersupply of minority lawyers. It is with much pleasure that we are able to establish the Franklin D. Cleckley Minority Scholarship at the WVU College of Law."
Cleckley taught at WVU between 1969 and 2013. He died in 2017. Cleckley was also the first African American justice on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals from 1994 until 1996.
Cleckley also focused on anti-discrimination cases and social justice as a practicing attorney.
