Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins endows classics scholarships at Holy Cross

Photo | Bill Hayes Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate

Write a Comment

Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins is endowing two classics scholarships at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, the school announced Thursday morning.

The endowment is the result of a $250,000 gift from Collins, who graduated from the school in 1963. Holy Cross is matching the initial gift through its Campaign for Hope and Access, bringing the initial endowment total to $500,000.

Through the endowment, officially named the Billy Collins ‘63 Scholarship for Studies in Classics, two scholarships will be awarded annually to current students majoring in classics who also demonstrate financial need.

“I am pleased to create this endowment at Holy Cross because its classics program is the most spirited and highly regarded of any such program at a liberal arts college in the United States," Collins said in a statement. "My years of studying classics there provided me with a solid underpinning to my career as a teacher and as a poet. When I’m composing poems, the classical languages are among the candles that light up my page.”

Collins, a lauded poet both domestically and abroad, served as U.S. poet laureate from 2001 to 2003, as well as the New York State Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006, among many other accolades.