Dyckman Institute Scholars Honored in Virtual Ceremony

By
Victoria Benitez
December 15, 2020

In November, Community Board 12 honored the newest recipients of the Dyckman Institute Scholarship with a virtual ceremony during its General Board Meeting.

This year's scholars are freshman Shaheed Thabit, sophomore Lord Crawford, junior Karime Robles, and senior Jason Cruz. They join the approximately 25 students from Washington Heights and Inwood who benefited from the $951,769 in need-based scholarships that made it possible for them to attend Columbia College or Columbia’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Since 1943, Columbia University has encouraged upper Manhattan high school seniors to apply for the award, which covers the full cost of undergraduate education.

The Dyckman Institute Scholarship can be traced to Alexander Hamilton’s widow, Eliza, who donated the building and land for the Hamilton Free School, the first school in Washington Heights in 1818. In 1860, the school became the Dyckman Library, the first free public library in Upper Manhattan. In the early 1920s, the library became the Dyckman Institute, which operated both a museum devoted to local archaeology in Inwood Hill Park and a publishing house. In 1943, the trustees of the institute decided to dissolve it and to establish a scholarship fund at Columbia for students from the neighborhood. 

Regardless of where they have attended high school, students living in Washington Heights or Inwood that are interested in one of the 300 need-based scholarships should visit the undergraduate admissions site or call 212-854-2522.