Central alumni Dr. David and Gloria Prins and Joyce Prins Schneider have established an endowed scholarship in honor of their parents, Tunis and Harriet Prins. The Prins Endowed Scholarship will be awarded to Central College students who excel academically and demonstrate Tunis and Harriet’s ideals of sportsmanship and leadership.
Tunis and Harriet Prins together served Central College and the Pella community for 24 years. Tunis was director of athletics and professor of physical education from 1938 until his untimely death in 1949. In the same year, Harriet became residence director of Graham Hall and later dean of women until her retirement in 1962. Tunis and Harriet exemplified and championed good sportsmanship — not only in contests on the field, but in all human relationships: respect for others, generosity of spirit and fair play according to the rules of the game.
In 2016, the Prins children decided to create the scholarship to keep the memory of their parents alive, and to honor their work at Central and in the Pella community. David ’52 and Gloria ’53, of Bellevue, Wash., and Joyce ’48, of Sarasota, Fla., provided the funds to fully endow the new scholarship.
The endowed scholarship replaces the former Prins Sportsmanship Award, given annually since 1950 to students who exemplified and championed good sportsmanship.
