William E. Barto Scholarship

William E. Barto Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to high school seniors of Duluth and Superior who plan to major in the arts and attend the University of Minnesota Duluth or the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Application Criteria

Seniors graduating in the top 25% of their class from a public or private high schools in Duluth or Superior and who intend to major in arts or visual arts at UMD or UWS may apply. Students should complete and submit the DSACF Common Application by the deadline day. A complete application will also include an academic transcript (including standardized test scores), one recommendation and financial need documentation.

The Scholarship Committee of the Community Foundation will select individual scholarship recipients. They will base their decision on the applicant's financial need, academic record, written recommendations and seriousness of purpose.

Recipient Responsibilities

A) The majority of communication between recipients and the scholarship administrators will take place via email or other appropriate technology. Recipients are required to have and regularly check their email and notify the Community Foundation of any changes to their contact information.

B) Recipients of DSACF scholarships are expected to acknowledge acceptance of the award promptly. This acknowledgment will take two forms, completion of an Acceptance Form provided by the Community Foundation and secondly, a thank you letter/card to the award's sponsor. The Community Foundation will provide names and addresses as needed. If unable to accept the scholarship, the committee should be given that information and a reason in a prompt manor.

C) Recipients must inform the DSACF of all other scholarship they are receiving. Total awards for any given semester can not exceed the stated cost for attendance at that institution.

D) Recipients must complete enough credits to be recognized as a full-time student in each semester an award is made. Likewise, a satisfactory grade point average (different by scholarship) must be maintained.

E) If the student receives funds from the college due to non-completion of a term or not attending full time, these funds are to be returned to the DSACF. If the college requirements are not met, but there is no refund, the scholarship will be forfeited.

F) The Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation hopes that recipients recognize and appreciate the contributions their award has made to their futures. It further anticipates that, in the years to come, recipients find some way to give back to the community that provided them with these opportunities.

Fund Story

William E. Barto was born in Pennsylvania in 1911. Following service with the United States Navy, he was employed by Fruehauf Company. In his retirement he enjoyed painting, a skill he learned from his first wife who was an accomplished water color artist. He also was a gemologist specializing in faceting gemstones. The William E. Barto Scholarship was established in 1995 to honor his memory and to provide financial assistance for art students.

Awards Given from Fund

One or more scholarships (of about $2000/year), co-payable to the student and institution will be awarded each year. Generally, this annual award is divided into two installments- half for fall, half for spring- and is renewable for up to four years, assuming proper academic progress (2.5 or higher GPA) is maintained.