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Dorothy Madden Dance Endowed Scholarship

The Dorothy Madden Dance Scholarship was established in April 2003 by alumni and friends of the Department of Dance, in honor of Dr. Dorothy Madden, the University's first Professor Emerita of Dance. Spendable Income from the Dorothy Madden Dance Scholarship provides annual awards for students studying dance in the College of Arts and Humanities. Dr. Dorothy Madden founder and first chair of the Department of Dance at the University of Maryland, was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshsire. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College, her Master of Arts from Syracuse University and her PhD from New York University. She studied dance in New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Tokyo and London, and danced in Washington with several companies including The Chamber Dance Group, Children's Dance Theatre and the companies of Pola Nirenska and Ethel Butler. In 1950, Dorothy Madden came to College Park as the only dance instructor in the Department of Health and Physical Education. In 1957 a major in dance was added, and ten years later, the program boasted sixteen dance majors and an even larger number of minors. Believing strongly that dance belonged with the other arts, Dr. Madden presented her views to the College of Arts and Sciences, and in 1967 the Department of Dance was established. Dr. Madden resigned as chair in 1972, and Meriam Rosen was named acting chair.

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