State Senator Gerald Allen Announces New UA Scholarship in Memory of Charlie Kirk

A state senator from West Alabama is launching a new scholarship at the University of Alabama in memory of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

Gerald Allen will officially announce the new endowed scholarship in Tuscaloosa Tuesday and said it will provide annual awards to undergraduate students.

Applicants will be judged on their leadership, character, public service and are in financial need. They will also be required to write and submit an essay seeking the scholarship.

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“Charlie Kirk stood for perseverance, leadership and the ideal of serving something bigger than oneself,” Allen said. “By establishing this scholarship at The University of Alabama, we honor his legacy and invest in the next generation of leaders from our state who will carry forward those same values.”

Allen himself will fund the initial endowment of the scholarship but is also seeking support to expand the scholarship's impact over time.

“Charlie Kirk was an American patriot whose passion for faith and freedom inspired a generation,” said Senator Allen. “He dedicated his life to helping young Americans rediscover that faith in God, liberty and hard work is what makes our nation great.”

Kirk, 31, was assassinated during a September speaking event on a college campus in Utah. The controversial conservative had spoken at the University of Alabama before, at a 2021 event, and memorial and vigils were held at the Capstone in the wake of his murder.

“Alabama holds the values of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution very dear, and The University of Alabama has a proud tradition of encouraging civil, intellectual and spirited political debate,” Allen said in an announcement. “It’s an honor to help a student do that in Charlie’s name.”

The new scholarship will be officially established in January, and the first recipients will be selected in Spring 2027 ahead of the academic year beginning that fall.

“By God’s grace, Charlie will never be forgotten, and through this scholarship, his life’s work will continue through the students who rise up to lead with the same moral courage, conviction and love of God and country that defined his life,” Allen said

Allen has served in the Alabama Legislature since 1994 and in the state Senate since 2010.

For more coverage of news in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.