When beloved Professor of Accountancy, Don Stanhope, decided to retire, his colleagues immediately purposed to establish some sort of worthwhile tribute in honor of the man they called the “founding father of the Accountancy department.” Thus, the Donald F. Stanhope Alumni Scholarship was established in 2001 by faculty, alumni and friends of Dr. Stanhope in the spirit of his commitment to the program. During Dr. Stanhope's tenure, the Accountancy program at UIS received national acclaim with two of its CPA exam-takers achieving the nation's highest pass rates for first-time CPA exam takers. In addition, nine accounting majors have won the prestigious EXCEL award for top performance on the exam. Colleagues and students alike credited the consistent achievement levels of UIS Accountancy students to personalized instruction from Dr. Stanhope and the other Accountancy professors. Each Stanhope scholarship awards the recipient a minimum of $1,000 per academic year. Preference is given to students who have completed at least one core course in Accountancy and who are planning a career in accounting along with attaining professional certification.