A Mount Union native’s gratitude became an enduring educational opportunity. The scholarship created through Oliver Leslie Etnier’s trust honors the uncle and mentor who helped shape his life, John Shaver Morrison.
Born near Aughwick Mills on December 21, 1837, John Shaver Morrison served as a first lieutenant during the Civil War before entering the paper industry. He helped establish the Roaring Spring paper mill, worked with Morrison, Bare & Cass, and moved to Tyrone in 1880 to direct its paper mill. He also served as president of the First National Bank of Tyrone.
Morrison never married. After his sister Jennie died in 1878, he became an important mentor and father figure to her ten-year-old son, Oliver Etnier. Morrison later brought Etnier into the paper business and helped shape his future.
Etnier was born in Mount Union on December 15, 1868. The opportunity Morrison gave him led to a successful paper-industry career that included the Dearborn Paper Company and Calumet Paper Company in Chicago. Etnier wrote his will in 1930, establishing a family trust in gratitude for his uncle.
He died in Wilmington, Delaware, on August 11, 1950, and was buried in Mount Union Cemetery. After the last surviving family beneficiary died, the trust’s educational purpose took effect, carrying Etnier’s gratitude to Morrison back to their hometown.
On August 28, 1989, the Mount Union Area School Board unanimously approved the John S. Morrison Scholarship program. Contemporary reporting described a $9.5 million Oliver Etnier Trust administered by Wilmington Trust. Several full-college scholarships were to be awarded each year, principally to Mount Union Area High School graduates pursuing engineering, computer science or physical science.
The original award covered tuition, room, board, books and supplies for as many as four undergraduate years. The six participating institutions named at the program’s launch were Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Stevens Institute of Technology and Yale University. The trust also directed a portion of its net income to the district for the moral, physical and intellectual development of its pupils.
“As trustee, we are delighted to be able to offer these scholarships, in perpetuity, through Etnier’s foresight and generosity.”
— George Helme IV, Wilmington Trust Company, quoted in The Daily News, August 29, 1989
The scholarship trust remains registered as the Oliver L. Etnier Trust UA 26813-0 FBO John S. Morrison Scholarship Fund, with Wilmington Trust Company serving as trustee. Its public Form 990-PF filing for the fiscal year ending April 2025 reported $15,855,766 in net assets and $931,666 in charitable disbursements.
End-of-year net assets reported by the trust.
Charitable disbursements reported for the fiscal year.
The program gives first consideration to qualifying Mount Union Area High School graduates pursuing engineering, computer science or physical science. The trust documents also allow consideration of qualifying graduates from other public high schools in Huntingdon County and specified surrounding Pennsylvania counties when awards remain available.
The MUASD-AI reference page describes an application packet obtained through the high-school Guidance Office. Its checklist includes:
Recipients’ academic progress is reviewed annually.
Search by recipient, year or university. This archive follows the submitted Morrison Scholarship workbook.
| Year | Recipient | University |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Brian Ritchey | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 1990 | Rodney Smith | Cornell University |
| 1990 | James Williams | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 1991 | Christian Africa | Cornell University |
| 1992 | Gale Gearhart | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 1992 | Kevin Johns | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 1992 | Michael Leonard | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 1992 | Brian Wiser | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 1993 | Ronald Singer | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 1993 | Karl Strauser | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 1993 | Todd Sunderland | Cornell University |
| 1994 | Tim McGovern | Cornell University |
| 1994 | Tammy Wiser | Cornell University |
| 1995 | Lauren Africa | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| 1995 | Leslie Armagost | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 1995 | Erik Heaster | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 1995 | Tawnya Sunderland | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 1996 | Natasha Bloom | Yale University |
| 1996 | Joleen Flasher | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 1996 | Shevey Westbrook | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 1998 | Christopher Roberts | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 1999 | Darian Dimoff | Cornell University |
| 2000 | Crystal Ferry | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| 2001 | James Myers | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2001 | Kevin Suders | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2002 | Justin Maskulyak | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2003 | Rhiannon Kolb | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 2003 | Ryan Ross | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2004 | Daniel Puchalla | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2005 | Mallory Corbin | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2005 | Patrick Hawkins | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| 2005 | Michael Hummel | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2005 | Brooke O’Donnell | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| 2005 | Chelsea Park | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2006 | Joshua Detwiler | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2007 | Marsha Melnyk | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2008 | Tristan Benson | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2008 | Jessica Price | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 2009 | Devin Corson | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2009 | Cody Kylor | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2009 | Lukas Rhodes | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2010 | Maggie Sochko | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| 2011 | Kendel Aurand | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2011 | Michele Little | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2011 | William Renninger | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2012 | Kevin Long | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 2012 | Zachary McKeehan | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2012 | Sabrina Smith | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2012 | Ryan Wilson | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2013 | Samantha Bliss | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| 2013 | Bryan Wenzel | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2014 | Sage Moist | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2014 | Elizabeth Steward | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2015 | Scott Cooper | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2016 | Jonathan Atherton | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2016 | Cheyenne Fye | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2016 | Reegan McCaulley | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2017 | Marie Daschbach | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2017 | Alexis Edgin | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2017 | James Woods | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2018 | Doug Gearhart | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 2018 | Tiffany Irvin | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| 2019 | Matthew Harshbarger | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2020 | Brooke Delo | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2021 | Kaitlin Arnold | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2021 | Ian Broadbeck | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2022 | Alexis Ruhl | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2023 | Kelly Bliss | Cornell University |
| 2023 | Emma Smith | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| 2024 | Joshua Sechrist | Cornell University |
| 2025 | Jenna Ritchey | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| 2025 | Dylan Shawver | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |