Paul and Margaret Gemperline Scholarship for International Graduate Students
Upon his retirement as Dean of the Graduate School in 2022, Dr. Paul Gemperline and his wife, Peggy, established the Paul and Margaret Gemperline Scholarship Endowment for International Graduate Students. The funds from this endowment are intended to provide supplemental financial support to international graduate students who have a full-time assistantship and out-of-state tuition remission. Recipients must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher and be qualified for regular admission.
Want to apply for the Gemperline Scholarship or other scholarship opportunities? Complete your application at Our Opportunities – ECUAWard Scholarship Portal.
Award Recipients
2025
Greta Oliva, Sociology
A Message from Dr. Paul Gemperline
I am passionate about the inclusion of international students at ECU. Over the course of my 40-year career as a Professor of Chemistry and Dean of the Graduate School, I had the good fortune to work with many US and international students in my research lab (52 US students and 33 international students), including undergraduate students, master’s students, visiting Ph.D. students, and post-doctoral research students. International students hailed from England, Scotland, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Australia, Iran, Ghana, Korea, India, and China.
The opportunity to work with these students greatly enriched my life, my family’s life, and the lives of the students I worked with. We shared long hours in the lab, scientific discoveries and achievements, beach weekends with my family, offshore fishing, sailing on the Pungo River, concerts, and performances. We celebrated holidays and birthdays together. We took road trips to regional and national meetings together. My life, my family’s life, and the lives of ECU students were greatly enriched by these experiences, and many lifelong friendships were formed.
International students experience significant financial, logistical, and emotional challenges. They demonstrate great courage by overcoming these difficulties and choosing to travel abroad for extended periods of time. They leave their home countries, families, and friends behind and start a new adventure. They immerse themselves in a new culture, speaking a new language. This is why it was so important for my wife and me to engage visiting international students in some of our family activities. We wanted them to feel at home during their time at ECU. Not only did these activities help our students, but they also deeply enriched our lives.
My wife Peggy (MS Chemistry ’79) experienced coming to ECU as a graduate student from out of state (Chicago) and empathizes with graduate students who travel long distances to come to ECU.
Visiting international students incur significant financial costs to study at ECU that are not experienced by US students. Visa application fees, transcript evaluation services, and travel expenses amount to many thousands of dollars. This is why it was so important for Peggy and me to establish the Gemperline International Graduate Student Scholarship. Our goal is to supplement international graduate students’ funding and help ease the financial burden they experience while studying at ECU. By offering financial assistance, we hope ECU will be able to attract top students from around the world.
By easing financial burdens, we expect more faculty, staff, and students will enjoy the opportunity to work with international students in some of the wonderful ways we’ve experienced.
The investment in international students is also a great investment for ECU. International students bring unique viewpoints and experiences from their home countries, strong academic capabilities, and critical thinking skills that enrich the laboratory and classroom experience for all students. The ability to attract top talent from around the world enhances ECU’s academic prestige and reputation.
By supporting this scholarship fund, we hope that ECU faculty, staff, and students will enjoy many life-changing experiences with international graduate students, long into the future.
— Dr. Paul Gemperline