Established 2020

This scholarship fund is a part of the CFMT General Scholarship Application that is open annually from December 1st to February 1st.

Eligibility: The scholarship will benefit juniors, seniors, graduate students or PhD candidates enrolled at Fisk University or another Tennessee HBCU who are seeking a science degree and are committed to a career in their chosen profession. Applicants must complete an essay on “The Role of Science Education in Today’s Society”, have a 3.0 GPA or better, qualify for financial aid and describe their extracurricular and community service activities.

History
The family of Dr. K.B. (Krish) and Vidya (Vimal) K. Deshpande established this Scholarship Fund to honor their commitment to education. This includes the promise of academic excellence, scientific inquiry, and evidence-based educational programs to lift up marginalized communities. Krish Deshpande was named a Fulbright Scholar in 1957, which brought him from India to the United States for a post-doctoral fellowship. Soon after, his wife and children joined him. Following his first few years in US academia, he was recruited by physicist and future Fisk University President James Lawson to become a Professor of Chemistry. Dr. Deshpande spent a career of scholarship and leadership mainly at Fisk from 1965 until his retirement in 2002. Vimal was a compassionate matriarch of the Deshpande family in America and in Nashville’s growing Indian community. She was a dedicated educator, teaching college students in India and the USA and served as a librarian at Fisk. She was an active volunteer in the community, supporting programs to help those living in poverty to transform their lives through education.