Resources and Opportunities

To recognize and award undergraduate history majors who are sensitive to struggles in the Afro-Latina/o/x and/or African American community and issues pertaining to people of color.

Kyle Campbell Whitham McLeod, a 22 year old African-American senior at San Francisco State University, passed away in 2007 from injuries sustained in a fall.

Kyle’s parents, Gearey McLeod and Cynthia Whitham, and sister Miranda McLeod — with the generosity of family, friends, and colleagues — have created a scholarship at SF State in Kyle’s honor.

Kyle loved reading, music of all kinds, and history, particularly Latin American history. He made fast and deep friendships, often introducing his friends to classic rock, blues, or reggae music or to books by his favorite authors. He was sensitive to the plight of others, whether friends in need or the homeless he met in the streets of San Francisco.

Kyle often spoke in anger at the continuing rise in California State University fees, aware that he had family able to help him while others struggled to stay in school. In memory of Kyle McLeod, each year a SF State junior in good standing, majoring in Latin American History, whose values reflect concern for the others, is awarded a partial scholarship which the awardee may use to lower his or her fees in the next year.

Each year, we award the Kyle Campbell Whitham McLeod Scholarship in Afro-latina/o/x & Latin American History to a continuing student with an interest in Latin American History, in memory of Kyle McLeod, a former History major at SFSU.

Cynthia Whitham and Gearey McLeod: "Our family launched the Kyle Whitham McLeod Scholarship Fund just a few months after his untimely death. We wanted to transform the very worst moment in our lives into something that Kyle would be proud of. His undergraduate years as a Latin American History major at San Francisco State instilled in Kyle a profound concern for fellow students forced to leave school not because of academic challenges, but because of financial hardships. Even a modest scholarship can forestall having to postpone — or end — their pursuit of a degree. To date, the scholarship has awarded scholarships to over a dozen SFSU students. Their stories are invariably inspiring.

We feel that there is no better way to honor Kyle than to help other young men and women who love history, Latin America, and are sensitive to the struggles of people of color, earn their degree at San Francisco State University."

Lily was raised in Oruro, Bolivia, and in Santiago, Chile. The daughter of a British mining engineer and a Bolivian, she was educated at schools that taught in English and Spanish. In 1953, she married Dr. Carlos Ponce de Leon, a Bolivian dentist. After years of effort, they emigrated to the U.S., where their only child, Charles, was born. As is true for many immigrants, moving to the U.S. required Lily and Carlos to adapt and reinvent themselves. With her husband unable to practice dentistry, Lily was compelled to enter the workforce in the mid-1960’s. She worked for more than thirty years as a dental assistant and office manager for a periodontal practice, gradually assuming the role of primary breadwinner. Lily was a wonderful mother who welcomed her daughter-in-law as a daughter and enriched her grandchildren’s lives in many ways. Her home became a regular spring break and summer outpost for her family. Lily lived in the Bay Area for more than 50 years. A memorial scholarship in her name at San Francisco State, a university with a proud tradition of educating immigrants and their children, also pays homage to the region she called home.

The Lily B. Ponce de Leon Endowed Scholarship in History, in memory of Lily Beatriz Venables Ponce de Leon (1926 – 2019). The scholarship has been generously established by her son, Prof. Charles Ponce de Leon (History, Cal State Long Beach), and her daughter-in-law, Lynn Mahoney, SF State’s 14th president.

The scholarship is $1000 and is open to undergraduate History majors who will be juniors or seniors in the fall semester and have at least a 2.75 GPA. There is a short application to fill out, including writing a 500 word essay describing yourself, how the award will help you graduate (financial need is one possible factor, but not the only one), and what your future plans are.

Each year, we award the Shirley Barnett Memorial Scholarship to one or more students returning to school over forty years of age.

The scholarship is awarded in memory of Shirley Barnett, who left college in the middle of her sophomore year to start and raise a family. She returned to finish her B.A. when she was in her sixties, so in her honor, the scholarship’s donor wishes to give a hand to older students who are returning to school.

This award is available to M.A. and B.A. History majors.

Support for a current student who is both academically successful and a contributor to the department. 

Support for one to six current M.A. students who have been academically successful.

To assist graduate students to travel both domestically and internationally for presenting papers and doing research. Students who have had papers accepted at peer-reviewed conferences should contact the department chair about these funds.