West Virginia State University Honors Katherine Johnson With Statue, Scholarship
West Virginia State University, alma mater of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, will recognize her with a new bronze statue and scholarship this year.
The Associated Press reports today (June 4) that West Virginia State University—which was founded as a historically Black university (HBCU), but touts on its website that it "has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated and multi-generational institution"—will dedicate a statue of Johnson at a ceremony on August 25, 2018. The ceremony takes place one day before Johnson, whose story formed the basis of "Hidden Figures," turns 100.
The school also plans to endow a scholarship in Johnson's name with $100,000, which will support students pursuing science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) degrees.