FMU dedicates scholarship in honor of longtime Board of Trustees member Frank Elmore

Francis Marion University is dedicating a new scholarship in honor of Frank Elmore, a long-serving board member and alumnus who passed away last year.

Elmore, who died in December, graduated from FMU in 1973 and was a member of the school’s Board of Trustees for 20 years. Beginning in the fall 2022 semester, the Frank Elmore Scholarship will award $2,500 scholarships to 32 students.

“Frank Elmore was a champion for Francis Marion University and he truly loved this institution,” said Dr. Fred Carter, president of FMU. “The entire university community feels his loss deeply, but Frank’s passion for educating the men and women of South Carolina will endure with every student who benefits from the scholarship bearing his name.”

Frank’s relationship with FMU has its roots at the institution’s start in 1970. An active member of the campus community as a student, Elmore served as president of the student body. Nearly thirty years after graduating, he was appointed to the board of trustees. As a member of the board, Elmore played a key role in Francis Marion’s growth over the next 20 years.

After graduating from Francis Marion, Frank went on to the University of South Carolina School of Law where he met his wife, Lee. The couple married in 1976.

“This is such a special honor, and we really appreciate it,” Lee said of the scholarship. “I just can’t tell you how much this means to our family.”

A first-generation college graduate, Frank deeply valued the education he received at FMU and credited the university with creating the foundation for the life and career he dreamed of. Lee said her husband never forgot the role Francis Marion played in his life and always sought to give back to the institution.

“One of the most admirable things about Frank was that he knew what was important and he showed up for it,” Lee said.  “He understood the importance of the education he had at Francis Marion and wanted to help in any way he could. He drove down (from Greenville) for every meeting and every graduation. He was just dedicated.”

According to Lee, helping students achieve the same educational foundation that was integral to Frank’s life and career is a fitting way to honor Frank’s legacy at FMU.

“To know how much the University thought of Frank and how important he was to the school is incredible,” she said. “Hopefully somebody that really had to work hard to get there will have a little extra help because of Frank’s memory.”