McClure Scholarship collection

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) can trace its origins to the founding of the Rochester Athenaeum in 1829. After joining with several different Rochester institutions during the 19th century, the Athenaeum finally merged with the Mechanics Institute (founded in 1885) in 1891 to form the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (RAMI). RAMI changed its name to the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1944 to better reflect the Institute's role in the field of technical education.

In 1979, the university celebrated its 150th anniversary. The celebration included theater productions, concerts, ceremonies, and activities such as cooking demonstrations. These festivities were organized by an Anniversary Council that was created in 1974. As part of the celebration, a picnic was held to honor babies born June 12, 1979, the exact anniversary of RIT's founding. The babies were awarded $1,500 scholarships to RIT, granted they chose to enroll at the Institute once they were eighteen. Parents of any child born on that day submitted a brief letter with the name of the child and contact information. The first 150 respondents, as determined by the postmark of the letters, were declared winners of the scholarships. Over 3,000 entries were received from 30 states and Australia.

Since the scholarship was funded by J. Warren McClure (RIT Board of Trustee and Vice President of Gannett Company's marketing department) and his wife, Lois, the infants were referred to as the McClure Scholars. Twelve of the 150 scholarship winners enrolled at RIT in 1997: Ryan M. Andreotta, Renee Livingston, Erin Wall, Melissa Torella, Shawn Clapham, Amanda Culver, Michael King, Sarah Blake, Logan Lindquist, Michael Twohig, Gary Adams, and Timothy Sewall.