Languages & Cultures

Bix Whitcomb Phi Sigma Iota Award - Due by March 22, 2023

This $2,500 award recognizes an outstanding member of Phi Sigma Iota at CSU, Chico, and assists them in their planned foreign travel study program. Whitcomb, who established this award, was inducted as Honorary Member of Phi Sigma Iota in 2009. A Chico State alum, Whitcomb had the opportunity to study abroad in Spain, which he considers one of the defining experiences of his college career.    APPLY HERE! (PDF)  (This application requires a letter of recommendation from a CSU, Chico faculty member.)

John Boyle Outstanding Japanese Language Student

This award was established by John Boyle to recognize and award student excellence in the study of Japanese language. John Boyle, an author and scholar in the area of pre- and post-war Japan, taught courses in east Asian history at Chico State from 1968 until his retirement in 1997. He and his wife Barbara Shipley Boyle lived for many years in Tokyo, and now reside in Chico.

The Betsy Randolph Spanish Language Award

A Chico State Spanish alum and retired kindergarten teacher, Betsy Randolph believes passionately in the importance of acquiring a second language. She created this award to recognize a student with demonstrated service to the Spanish Language department through participation with publications and other activities including the honor's society Phi Sigma Iota, of which she is an honorary member.

 Maria S. Haynes & Italian Studies Advisory Council Scholarship

Named to honor the long career of the late Professor Emerita Maria S. Haynes, this award is funded by family, colleagues, and the on-going efforts of the Italian Studies Advisory Council. The award is given to students enrolled in Italian classes who show academic potential.

Melitta T. Singer Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship was established by Barbara and Joseph Stengel in 2009 to honor the memory of Mrs. Stengel's mother, Melitta Theresia Singer. Melitta Singer was born in 1922 and grew up in Sudetenland, Germany, the daughter of a working, lower-to-middle class family. She apprenticed as a seamstress until World War II intervened, and then spent the war years in Berlin working for the German Red Cross. She eventually settled in Wiesbaden, where she raised her daughter Barbara, endowing her daughter with a rich love of reading and learning. Barbara attended Chico State, earning her B.A. and Masters in History. This scholarship is intended to support students pursuing a major or minor in German.