Joseph and Patricia Brennan Academic Travel Legacy Scholarship
Dr. Patricia Brennan dedicated most of her academic career to the development, teaching, and directing of academic travel abroad tours. Dr. Brennan began teaching at the College in 1994 after her husband, Joseph, spotted an ad in the Omaha World-Herald to teach English and encouraged her to apply. This was the beginning of over 25 years of service to Clarkson College. Throughout her tenure, Dr. Brennan was instrumental in developing a strong humanities program and in 1998 created the Academic Travel Abroad (ATA) program with the support of colleagues. Dr. Brennan further expanded the program in 2011 to a second annual trip to partner with other colleges with an interprofessional focus on students in healthcare education.
Over the years, the ATA program at Clarkson College has impacted many students, alumni, employees, and community members. Traveling abroad with a diverse community of lifelong learners is a highlight in students' academic careers. The trip serves as the keystone of a course that prepares students to experience the art, history, and culture of other countries, including a medical visit. The capstone assignment is a creative reflection project that documents how the immersion experience challenged them to think in new ways and deepened their understanding of themselves and others.
Dr. Brennan often shared that without the unconditional support of her husband, it would have been impossible for her to travel with her students several weeks a year. Although Joe, a consummate journalist, never traveled abroad himself, he believed in its transformative power. To that end, he supported their children, Molly, Rose, and David, in their own college studies in Israel, Normandy, Italy, Ireland, and Greece. Joe died suddenly in 2014, but his memory, intellectual curiosity, and love for his wife has led the College to proudly support monetary scholarships for students to apply toward the cost of the trips.
The scholarship will award two students with $1,000 each to use toward the cost of an ATA Trip. With this scholarship, the Brennan legacy of the importance in expanding our hearts and minds to understand our world can continue forever. The Joseph and Patricia Brennan Academic Travel Scholarship is intended for undergraduate students who are enrolled at the College and registered to travel with the ATA program.
We thank you for supporting the Joseph and Patricia Brennan Academic Travel Scholarship.