Memorial Scholarship set up in memory of  Dr. Sandra Alfoldy, who passed away last year

Selkirk College has taken the wraps off a new scholarship, created in honour of a trailblazing craft historian who helped shape the field in Canada.

Dr. Sandra Alfoldy who grew up in a family of artists in Creston, passed away last February, succumbing to cancer, at the age of 49. 

Speaking on Kootenay Morning Friday, Selkirk College Advancement Coordinator Kelsey Baerg explained that the craft crusader’s legacy will now live on through the Dr. Sandra Alfoldy Memorial Scholarship. 

It will assist Selkirk College students hoping to pursue a career in craft by studying in Selkirk’s Kootenay Studio Arts programs. 

“Dr. Alfoldy was a leading academic, an expert in craft and a scholar through and through,” says Baerg. “She was the first person in Canada to earn a PhD in craft history from a Canadian institution.”

Selkirk has offered more than $400,000 in scholarships and bursaries the year, not including emergency funding, in an effort to make a college education affordable. 

Baerg and fellow Selkirk staff established the Emergency Relief COVID 19 Fund earlier this year. They had aimed to raise $60,000 in a month. The fund generated $93,000, and with assistance from corporations and government, ultimately raised nearly $300,000, assisting nearly 500 students.

You can hear the interview in its entirety right here.