High Point University Academic Scholarships Honor Top Furniture Industry Designer

Furniture World Magazine

In honor of her late husband Tom, Rosemary Keller has established two full tuition and fees academic scholarships at High Point University that are renewable over a four-year period. "It’s a privilege to offer these scholarships in honor of my husband who was a scholarship recipient many years ago," said Rosemary Keller. Both Rosemary and Tom, who passed away in September after a career as an industry pioneer and world-renowned free-lance furniture designer, have always been generous supporters of HPU. The new Keller Scholarships will be the university’s top academic awards. “High Point University is extremely grateful to the Keller family for their generosity and love of our academy," said President Nido Qubein. "We are thrilled to be able to attract top academic students from all over the world and award the very best our top award, the prestigious Keller Scholarship." Tom Keller was a creative genius in furniture design and one of the most innovative designers of the past 50 years. Through his firm, H. Thomas Keller & Associates in High Point, he worked with a number of companies, including Bernhardt and Henredon. He attended Parsons School of Design of New York and Kendall School of Design in Grand Rapids, Mich. He was the first to embrace C.A.D. (computer-aided design) technology in creating and designing furniture. “Tom’s ability to sketch and to conceptualize, in synchronic rhythm between the conceptions of his mind and the sketching of his right hand, was a rare gift,” said close friend and HPU Dean of the Chapel, Dr. Hal Warlick. The Keller Scholarships are open to top academic students in the entering freshmen class. Students interested in applying for these scholarships or any of High Point University’s Presidential Scholarships should contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 336.841.9216 or visit www.highpoint.edu/undergraduate/. At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people. HPU is a liberal arts institution with approximately 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 50 countries and 44 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report 12th among comprehensive universities in the South and in the top 100 nationally. The university offers 68 undergraduate majors, 33 minors and five graduate-degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference.