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02/14/2013

Students Uphold Late Professor's Legacy with CindyMackie Foundation Scholarships

Quick Facts

 The honored students were Brittany Boswell, Amy Giebel and Katherine Ware.
 The CindyMackie Foundation was established in honor of Assistant Professor of English Cynthia Furr and her young daughter Mackie.
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From left, Brittany Boswell, Sharon Furr, Amy Giebel and Jean Furr
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Amy Giebel
ROCK HILL, S.C. — The late Winthrop University Assistant Professor of English Cynthia Furr cherished her time in the classroom and all of her students.

Her memory, along with that of her young daughter Mackie, lives on this week as family, including Cynthia Furr’s mother Jean Furr, and board members of the CindyMackie Foundation presented scholarships to three Winthrop students: special education major Brittany Boswell, of Hollywood, S.C.; Amy Giebel, an art major from Clover; and Katherine Ware, an art education major from Charlotte. The scholarships were presented to two of the students during an on-campus ceremony at the tree planted in Furr's honor; Ware will receive her scholarship this week.

The purpose of the CindyMackie Foundation is to inspire, fulfill ambitions and provide opportunities for students through scholarships and grants in the English, literature and arts fields. Since the foundation’s formation, more than $50,000 in scholarships and grants have been awarded.

“I’m shocked and honored,” Boswell said, minutes after receiving her scholarship. Giebel also echoed her surprise.

“We are so proud to give you this,” Sharon Furr, Cynthia Furr’s sister, told the students. “Cindy would be so proud, not only that you’re extraordinary, but that you’re at Winthrop.

“It’s a great loss, but we can give back a piece of Cindy today.”

Cynthia Furr joined the Winthrop community in 2002, primarily training and working with student interns who wanted to teach English in secondary schools. At first she worked in the Richard W. Riley College of Education, but eventually moved to the Department of English in 2004, where she also taught writing and British literature. She and her 2-year-old daughter were killed in a car accident in 2009.

For more information on the CindyMackie Foundation, visit the official website at www.cindymackiefoundation.org.

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