The Ipson-Tully Scholarship

Background

Harold and Peggy (nee Bailey) Ipson met at the University of California, Berkeley (“Cal”), where both earned their Bachelor’s degrees, graduating in 1938 and 1939, respectively, before marrying in June 1939.  Harold worked for the Ferry Morris Seed Company in 1935 and 1936 as a member of the team which managed test plots scattered across the Salinas Valley.  Llewellyn and Ione (nee Oswald) Tully were born in Bitterwater, graduated from Bitterwater-Tully School and King City High School.  Lew enrolled at Cal, graduating in 1936, before marrying Ione.  His first job was teaching at Salinas High School.  Lew and Ione would then move to King City where Lew first taught at King City High School, and subsequently became Superintendent of the King City Union High School District from 1955 to 1974.

Both couples were enthusiastic supporters of education in their communities, with Peggy and Ione active in the PTA.  The Tully’s daughter Sue graduated from King City High School and enrolled at Cal in the Fall of 1958.  The Ipson’s son Dan graduated from Pleasant Hill High School and also began his undergraduate career at Cal that same semester.  Dan and Sue met in Spanish class, romance bloomed, and they married immediately after graduation in 1962.  Both launched careers in education, and in 1971 they settled with their two children, Steve and Ellen, in Salinas.  Sue taught at the elementary school level with the Salinas City School District for 20 years, very adept at dual language teaching.  Dan earned his MA at UC Santa Barbara before teaching for five years at King City High School.  He then obtained his PhD in history at UC Davis before becoming a professor of history at Hartnell College, and then became Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Dan’s brothers, Steve and Mike, graduated from Cal in 1964 and 1968.  Dan and Sue’s children, Steve and Ellen, graduated in 1988 and 1989.

America in the 1930s was in the midst of a severe depression, and many people had to forego a college education.  Lew, Harold and Peggy were very appreciative of their opportunity to obtain an excellent education at a difficult time for our country.  They always made an effort to give back by supporting families of all backgrounds in pursuing higher education.  In keeping with this value, and recognizing the challenges faced by families in the Salinas Valley who also have hopes that their children can enjoy the outstanding education that Cal has to offer, the family has established a scholarship, the Ipson-Tully Scholarship, to support students from low-income families across the Salinas Valley who will enroll at the University of California Berkeley.  The fund will be managed by the Community Foundation of Monterey County, and the selection process will be conducted by Cal graduates living in the Salinas Valley.

Criteria

The Ipson Tully Scholarship provides support for students from the Salinas Valley to study at the University of California at Berkeley who have strong academic potential, demonstrate community support and require financial support to pursue their studies at Cal.  Students who have graduated from Salinas Valley High Schools and Hartnell College and are accepted at Cal are eligible to apply for the scholarship.

Application

To apply…