The scholarship honors the memory of Hugh M. and Julia G. Hadley.

Julia Gardiner Hadley graduated from Columbus School for Girls, attended Smith College, and graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in English literature. As a lifelong volunteer, Julia Hadley was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority, Columbus Museum of Art, COSI, Goodwill Service Board, Franklin Park Conservatory Women’s Board, Twig #2 of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio Historical Society, WOSU, and her favorite, Thurber House. She was also a member of the Colonial Dames of America, Junior League, and the Little Garden Club. Always interested in politics, she served as a delegate at the Republican National Convention in 1988 in New Orleans, LA. She was married to Hugh M. Hadley and had four children, Patricia, David, Tom, and Fred.

Hugh M. Hadley was a graduate of Belmont Hill School in Belmont, MA and Harvard College. He was retired as senior vice president and director of the McElroy-Minster Co. He was past president of the Columbus Life Underwriters Association and a member of the American Societ of Chartered Life Underwriters. Hugh served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in WWII. He was a long-time member and past deacon and trustee of First Congregational Church, a volunteer reader for the Central Ohio Radio Reading Service, and a volunteer for the Operation Smile Rotary Club of Columbus. Both were members of First Congregational Church, Rocky Fork Hunt and Country Club, and the Columbus Club.