Sarah Tucker Wayland Scholarship

This scholarship is designated for current female students (may not be incoming first year, or graduating senior) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 and demonstrated financial need as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Applicants should be prepared to provide up to 4 faculty or staff references. Special consideration is given to applicants who demonstrate academic achievement, leadership qualities, outstanding performance, and exceptional character. Recipients will be selected by The Sally Society in consultation with the Office of Financial Aid.

Sarah Frances Tucker was born June 29, 1864 on Silver Creek in Parker County, Texas to Joseph and Martha Hart Tucker. She married Dr. James H. Wayland on December 27, 1883 in Weatherford, Texas. They lived in Parker and Hunt Counties where their first three children were born. In 1891, the young family moved to Plainview seeking a higher and drier climate to better manage the doctor’s asthma. Their family soon grew to include nine children.

Plainview, on the High Plains of Texas, proved to be a perfect location for the young medical doctor and his wife to care for the people of West Texas. The couple joined the First Baptist Church soon after moving to town and became active members, serving there for more than 60 years. Both Dr. and Mrs. Wayland had a keen interest and an active involvement in all aspects of the growing Hale County community.
The Waylands began to see a need for higher education in the expanse of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, and they felt strongly that an education grounded in faith in Christ was most important. In 1906, Dr. and Mrs. Wayland offered $10,000 and 25 acres of their ranch land to the Staked Plains Association to form a Baptist school. Wayland Baptist College was chartered on August 31, 1908. The couple continued to generously support the school, giving more than $100,000 over their lifetime, which was a huge sum of money in the early 1900’s.

Sarah Tucker Wayland, the co-founder of Wayland Baptist College, died on October 29, 1955 in Plainview, Texas.
In February 2010, the Sally Society was founded at Wayland. The women’s philanthropic giving circle was named in honor of Sarah, or Sally, as she was affectionately called by her husband. As the inaugural project of The Sally Society, the 37 charter members are pleased to honor the memory of Wayland’s first female philanthropist with an endowed scholarship bearing her name in recognition of a woman who was a bold visionary and a sacrificial supporter of Wayland.