Love the great outdoors? This Alabama college just became your dream come true

MONTEVALLO, Ala. — Alabama is well known for its wide range of opportunities to spend time in the great outdoors, and now one of the state’s public universities is offering a unique scholarship for students interested in preserving and appreciating all that Alabama’s diverse environment has to offer.

Montevallo, Alabama’s only public liberal arts college, is tucked away in a more rural part of Shelby County, about 45 minutes southwest of Birmingham. The school has been booming the last several years under the leadership of relatively new school President Dr. John Stewart.

The President’s Outdoor Scholarship, which will cover part of tuition, was inspired by Dr. Stewart’s love of the outdoors.

“We live in an area of the country where hunting and fishing is part of the ethos, and part of our culture,” Dr. Stewart told Yellowhammer in a telephone interview Monday afternoon. “I personally grew up doing a lot of hunting and fishing, with a great deal of respect for outdoor resources. We saw this as a way to serve so many students in our area who come to college and study, but also would like to remain plugged into their passions outside the classroom.”

The scholarships will be provided by the University of Montevallo Foundation for students who have distinguished accomplishments in outdoor sports and demonstrated a personal commitment to conservation.

Dr. Stewart said students receiving the scholarship would also be encouraged to take part in a brand new environmental studies program.

Students will have the opportunity to study conservation and game management, attend monthly on-campus meetings, lectures and activities related to hunting and fishing techniques and strategies, explore careers in outdoor sports and related fields, take coursework on outdoors and the environment, learn how to prepare fish and wild game for the table and attend academic lectures related to sporting and outdoor life.

“There is such an appreciation for the environment at [Montevallo] already, and given that so many of our students come from within 100 miles, it just seems like a natural marriage to us,” said Dr. Stewart.

Dr. Stewart told Yellowhammer the program is also attracting high quality students from across the country.

“It’s created a lot of buzz and a lot of excitement about giving students the opportunity to retain that love and passion for the outdoors for all four years of their college experience.”

Among the special projects available for recipients are a guided bass fishing trip to the legendary Lake Fork in Texas, quail hunting at an exclusive private club, bass fishing at private lakes and ponds, deep-sea and big-game fishing off the Gulf Coast or in the Florida Keys, duck hunting in the Mississippi Delta, Arkansas or Louisiana, and guided big-game hunts.

The President’s Outdoor Scholarship will be available this fall.

The University of Montevallo is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the top public master’s-level university in Alabama in the 2014 edition of “America’s Best Colleges.” In 2014, Montevallo was listed as the 15th best public university in the South in its division and 36th overall in the South.

Since Dr. Stewart began leading the school in 2010 Montevallo has increased freshmen enrollment by 25 percent, and grown the number of applications to the school by 30 percent. Even with this dramatic growth, the University has managed to maintain its 16:1 student-to-faculty ratio and an average undergraduate class size of 21.