Gwen Frostic Scholarships

  • Gwen Frostic's home and studio in Benzonia, Michigan.

    Gwen Frostic's home and studio in Benzonia, Michigan.

The Gwen Frostic Scholarship was established by Western Michigan University’s President Emeritus, Diether Haenicke, from funds donated to Western Michigan University by the artist, poet, naturalist, and entrepreneur, Gwen Frostic. Gwen was an alumna of WMU in 1929 and maintained a close relationship with her alma mater for all of her life. The WMU Board of Trustees approved the naming of the Gwen Frostic School of Art in 2007.

Frostic was a celebrated Michigan artist, whose lifelong love affair with her alma mater culminated in her bequest of a gift of $13 million to WMU, one of the largest single gifts in the school's history. Frostic, one of WMU's most accomplished alumni, died on April 25, 2001, the day before her 95th birthday. Widely known since the 1950s for her block print art, she died in her longtime home in Benzonia, Michigan, where she operated Presscraft Papers, Gwen Frostic Prints of Benzonia, a Michigan landmark.

Eligibility criteria

  • Art as the first major
  • Incoming Freshman

Award amount and CRITERIA 

  • Varies 
  • Multiple awards
  • Students receiving this scholarship must maintain an overall GPA of 3.25  
  • Students receiving this scholarship must maintain enrollment in at least 12 credit hours per semester
  • This scholarship is renewable up to 8 semesters